


The Flower Shop On Forty-Ninth

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Anxiety, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bruce Banner Has Issues, Clint Barton is a dork, Dorks in Love, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, How Do I Tag, Hydra, I'll add more as time goes on - Freeform, Love, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Reader can lift Thor's hammer, Reader has a cat, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Stalker, Stalking, Steve Rogers is a Good Boy, This is my first work, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Unrequited Love, Violence, after mei's robot from overwatch, all of them are wrecks tbh, and australian money, bc i'm aussie and i think the imperial system is dumb, bc reader is a cutiepie who deserves love, bc you're gonna get that patriot dick, bruce banner is a dork, but eventually he does, cap doesnt accept his feelings, captain america is a dork, dont judge me, eventually, i'm talking about u, its name is snowball, its not that slow but i'll tag it anyway, rating will proabably change, so MANY PEOPLE HAVE ISSUES, uses metric measurements, vision is cool, woah shit is building up, you like the maximoffs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-05-29 13:45:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15074423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ninety-two percent of people find their soulmate before they turn eighteen.You're twenty-five, you own a flower shop in New York City, and you're a bit worried your soulmate died.In fact, your soulmate has an idea of who you are, but refuses to accept his feelings. He loved Peggy, not some ___ person.Even if he had their name across his wrist, with a little flower mark next to it.A story of finding soulmates fluff, angst, and dorks falling in love but said dorks take their time because someone is still getting over Peggy and I don't want them to use the L word yet.(Rated teen and up for bad words like fuck, rating will change)





	1. The Part Where An Avenger Visits Your Shop

“Hi there, welcome to the New York Bloom! How may I help you?”

A smile graced your lips as you took in the sight of the teenager who had just stumbled through the door of your shop. Brown hair a mess, hazel eyes worried, brows drawn, clothes baggy and wrinkled, and sneaker laces untied. “Is this the soulmate bouquet place?” The teen asked, propping his skateboard again the closest wall.

“Yes, this is the place! I’m guessing you’d like one?” The boy nodded enthusiastically. “Alright, could you show me your mark? Or would you rather just describe it?”

“Nah it’s okay.” He rolled up the sleeve of his too-big t-shirt to expose the name ‘Aaliyah’ in a lovely cursive writing, with a small pink rose next to it on his left shoulder. “That’s easy to do. Twenty dollars and your name please!” 

The boy rummaged through his pockets before pulling out a pair of crumpled ten-dollar notes. “My name’s Stevie.” Your own soulmark pulsed softly on your wrist. It did that whenever it heard the name Steve, or any variation of your soulmate’s name. ‘This kid already found his soulmate, stop that,’ you thought as your mark thrummed one more, and returned to normal.

“Okay, it’ll be ready in about an hour, come pick it up before we close at nine this evening.” You handed Stevie his receipt with the pickup time stamped on it. The teen gave you a smile and a wave, dropped his skateboard on the ground, and exited your store.

In the back room of the store, a storage-and-arranging space, you busied yourself putting together the bouquet for the boy. One of your other employees would take over at the counter. After New York was attacked by the Chitauri, you had decided to build a flower shop in the rebuilding city Three years later and your little shop had grown incredibly in popularity, especially after the release of your soulmate bouquets. Magnificent arrangements of beautiful flowers that carried the theme of the receiver based on their partner’s soulmark. 

Signing the to-and-from card caused your sleeve to roll up slightly. After attaching the card to the bouquet, you glanced down at the offending sleeve that had revealed your own soulmark. The name ‘Steve’ was written in a neatish, non-cursive font across your wrist. Next to it in a tone a few shades darker than your regular skin tone was a star inside a ring. Your mark hadn’t gained colour, signalling to all who saw that you still hadn’t met your soulmate at the age of twenty-five. This was much later than most, as statistically, ninety-two percent of people met their soulmate before they turned eighteen. You rubbed your thumb gently across your mark, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of your lips. You’d wait for your soulmate, no matter how long it took.

“Oi, ___, we have another soulmate order, get out here!” That was one of your employees, Joel, a man around your age with a lovely tan complexion, deep brown eyes, fluffy black hair, tattoos covering both his arms, and a soulmark on his neck reading ‘Lucas’ in some of the messiest handwriting you’d ever seen. The symbol next to the name was a pen, which made sense considering Lucas worked at the tattoo parlour across the road as one of their artists and their main designer. You’d made the proposal bouquets for each other and arranged all the flowers for their wedding. You'd cried. 

Joel awkwardly made his was through the door to the back, dumping the posts he held onto the concrete floors. He flashed you an apologetic grin as you raised an eyebrow at him. “You can’t tell me to get over there Jo, I’m your boss,” you joked, slipping a final extra-large rose into the middle of the arrangement. “There’ll be a kid named Stevie picking this up. If he comes looking for it, make sure he gets it." 

“Yes boss,” Jo said cheekily, giving you a two-fingered salute before picking up the arrangement carefully and moving it to the bench that held orders that needed picking up. You shook your head at him and made your way to the front room of the store to take the order.

You took your spot behind the counter, carefully dodging your other employee, Mia. The person at the counter looked awfully familiar. Her hair was a flaming red, the curls peeking out from under the cap she wore. Here sunglasses were the darkest you’d ever seen. It suddenly clicked. The person who’s order you were about to take was none other than Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow herself. Nobody else seemed to notice you had a literal superhero in your store. You made sure to steady yourself before greeting her. “Uh, welcome to… Welcome to the New York Bloom! How may I help you?”

The redhead gave you a slight smirk. She knew you recognised her. “I’ve heard lots about your work. I’d like to purchase a soulmate bouquet please.” Her voice had an amused lilt to it as she began moving her expensive-looking jacket and black shirt to show her collarbone, where you could see the unmistakeable black writing of a soulmark, and a coloured symbol decorating her pale skin.

You rang her up. “That’ll be twenty dollars and your name, please.” You dropped your voice to a whisper and mumbled a quiet, “I can give you a discount if you’d like?”

She only shook her head and handed you a very pristine twenty dollar note. You beckoned her forward a little and she obliged. This close, you could see the name on her skin read ‘Bruce’ in a typical messy yet neat doctor’s handwriting. The mark was a pair of glasses in the exact same shade of red as her hair. It was obvious ‘Bruce’ was referring to the powerhouse of the avengers, Bruce Banner AKA Hulk. “For the name, use Nat please.”

“Sure thing. Did you have a timeframe for when you’d like your bouquet?”

“I’m actually in a rush.” She said apologetically. “Mind doing it now?”

You shook your head, offered her a smile and beckoned her to follow you into the back. You whipped your phone out of your pocket and sent a quick text to Joel to take care of the counter. Picking out a grey pot, you gathered an armful of various red and black flowers and got to work.

It was quiet for a while, the only sound in your room was the rustle of flower on flower as you arranged them for the avenger. Said avenger broke the silence.

“Have you found yours yet?”

The question was loaded and made you stop in your tracks. You put the red carnations in your hands down as your mark began to throb slightly painfully. It was unhappy, like you, at not having found your soulmate. You pulled your sleeves down further, before addressing the woman. “No. I haven’t.” The corner of your lips tugged up in a sad smile. “I know, it’s late. I’m twenty-five. But I’m just a simple florist. I don’t go out looking for my soulmate. I believe they’ll find me somehow.”

“What’s their name?”

“Steve.” 

Your sneakers squeaked a little on the ground as you shuffled nervously. You had avoided soulmate conversations as much as humanly possible. You always felt uneasy, not only because you hadn’t found yours, but because you may be able to step outside and just run into ‘Steve’. Your easy-going belief that they’d find you could be the reason your soulmate hadn’t been able to be happy. You often felt guilty for not looking for him.

The glasses the redhead wore prevented you from seeing the flash of suspicion in her emerald eyes. Steve, huh? “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I was just curious.”

You waved her off politely. “Don’t worry about it at all.” You turned your attention back to the bouquet, refusing to look at her. After all, it’s incredibly embarrassing to not have a soulmate at your age.

Within the hour, you were done. You attached the customary to-and-from tag, with the names ‘Bruce’ and ‘Nat’ written in the blank spaces. “There you go Miss Nat.” The flowers were arranged to look like a pair of red glasses in a sea of black flowers. 

“Thanks a lot. I didn’t catch your name though.” 

You blinked at her in surprise. “My name is ___.”

“I’ll be sure to recommend you to the rest of the team.”

The jolt of surprise morphed into a burst of happiness. An avenger like your work enough to tell the rest of the superheroes about you. “No, thank you! Have a nice day Miss Nat!” You gave her a genuine smile as she left, flowers in hand.

Your head began swimming with thoughts. It had been a crazy day already, and it was only one in the afternoon. Your train of thought was broken by Joel re-entering the store. “Sorry ___, but Lucas has a new muscle tank top and, well, he looks like a damn snack.” He sheepishly grinned, trying to cover the dark spot on his throat with his hand. “Don’t be mad boss."

You just rolled your eyes in friendly exasperation, and teasingly flipped him off. You couldn’t help but wish you had someone to love like that, but you pushed the thoughts away. All in due time. “Sorry you had to cover for us Mia.” The teen looked up from her place at the counter, raised a pierced eyebrow at Joel, and promptly went back to talking to the toddler she had been cooing at. 

Your little flower shop was everything to you. And you loved it, even when you had to direct customers to sunflower displays even though “Sir, they’re right next to the door- “.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natasha entered the tower, still clutching the grey pot of undisturbed flowers. That florist had done a fantastic job. She greeted the receptionists, before taking the elevator up to the higher-clearance levels. She navigated out of the elevator, popped the bouquet on the nearest table, and sitting on the couch that Clint and Steve were sitting on.

“What’s with the flowers Nat?” Clint teasingly went to go and poke the cluster of plants but stopped when his redheaded friend gave him an intense glare. 

“Don’t even think about it, they’re for Bruce. It’s our anniversary.”

Steve left the friends to their bickering, and instead elected to go and get a closer look to the floral display. “Where did you get these? This arrangement is incredible.” He was a little shocked, not many places in the city had flowers this nice.

Natasha smiled at him, before swatting away Clint’s hand from her arms. “A cute little flower shop, the New York Bloom. That’s the place that does those really popular ‘soulmate bouquets’. It’s run by a florist named ___, she seems like a total sweetheart.”

The captain’s attention flicked to the card attached to the intricate arrangement. The writing was familiar. Very, very familiar. Making sure the others couldn’t see, he moved his jacket sleeve up his arm. It sat there, in the exact same handwriting on the card. His soulmark. The name ___ written in a lovely, slightly cursive font, with a cute little zigzag underneath it. Next to it, a few shades darker than his skin, sat a little flower. 

All of the avengers had found their soulmates, except for Steve. He had given up looking after he went into the ice. He had been perfectly fine with Peggy, he loved her, not some ___ person who had his name on their skin. Peggy and himself had ignored their marks staunchly, instead preferring to focus on the other. They both knew it was wrong, two people out there would never find the one because of them. But they didn’t care, he loved her. 

It felt wrong to have the, admittedly lovely, writing on his arm.

So instead of going to meet the florist who had so much in common with his mark, he shoved the thoughts aside. His heart would always belong to Peggy.

“I’m gonna go and punch a few bags, see you two later.” With that, the super soldier left the two assassins behind, already wrapping his hands and wrists in bandages. 

“What’s up with him?” The archer attempted to grab the remote from his friend but failed miserably.

“Not sure.”

In reality, she had an inkling of what was going on, but she knew Steve had never talked about his soulmark or finding his partner.

The woman decided to treat it as random chance until anything else was figured out.

Maybe it’s just one big coincidence?


	2. The Part Where Tony Stark Accidentally Makes You Feel Bad

You hummed a soft tune to yourself as you swept the wooden floors of your store. A child had knocked over a few large flower pots and spilt dirt, fertilizer and flowers all over the previously clean floors. You had volunteered to stay back late by yourself to clean up and take inventory for tomorrow and sent Mia and Joel home. The soft sound of the broom’s bristles on the floor was enough background noise to prevent you from being scared of being alone in the empty shop. The ringing of the store’s phone scared you into dropping your broom.

 

A sigh escaped your lips as you left the broom on the ground and picked up the phone. “Hello, ___ from The New York Bloom speaking. I’m so sorry but we’re actually shut right now and- “

 

“Hey ___, it’s Nat. I was wondering if you did wedding size arrangements?”

 

“Oh shit, uh, hi there Miss Nat, yeah, I can do arrangements of twenty to one hundred bouquets. Why do you ask?”

 

“You know Tony Stark, right? He had a fight with his girlfriend and he can't say sorry like a normal person. He saw the bouquet you made me and asked I called you. Great job by the way, Bruce loved them.”

 

Of course you knew who Tony Stark was. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Famous owner of Stark Industries, avenger and hero. Everyone in the city knew who he was, and he didn’t let them forget it, often flying above the city in his shiny red-and-gold suit. “I can get thirty done by Tuesday. I assume that they’re all soulmate bouquets?”

 

“Yep, I’ll get a picture of the mark and the money to you early tomorrow.”

 

“Alright, thanks for your time Miss Nat.”

 

“Please, just Nat is fine. Have a nice night.”

 

The phone beeped at you to let you know she had hung up. You ran a hand through your hair as you wandered into the back to take the inventory you were supposed to have taken over an hour ago. You had exactly thirty-one pots. Some higher power was favouring you there, but you still had to paint them all. “Can’t go wrong with white, right?” You mumbled to yourself, poking around the storeroom for the cans of white paint.

 

“Oh for fucks sake!” The cans were empty. You had repainted the storeroom a week ago, and you’d forgotten to buy more paint to replace the cans you had used up. You untied your apron from around your waist, grabbed your jacket, and made a dash to the door, only to trip on the broom. An angry groan left your mouth as you finished sweeping up the dirt and popping the pots back against the wall. Ten-thirty at night. Yuck, this was eating into your Netflix time. You made sure to lock up the shop behind you. The blue car parked on the road next to shop beeped as you clicked the unlock button on your keys. You climbed into your cute little Ford Fiesta, a car you had gotten from your dad. It was a little dinged up and had been keyed by someone on the left door, but you loved it.

 

The engine roared to life as you turned the key in the ignition. You’d turned on the heater that morning due to the Winter morning turning your hands numb, and heat flowed through the car as it began to rumble in the way cars do. You flicked on the radio. Perfect by Ed Sheeran. Again. Yeah, you didn’t mind him, but you minded when the one song was played once every half hour. You pressed a button, and the pop song disappeared and was replaced by something classical. Yeah, this was okay.

 

As you drove, you couldn’t help but think about your soulmate. What was he doing? Who was he with? Maybe he was already asleep. Was he a snorer? Was he sleep-cuddler? Maybe he was on a night-time run, burning off some steam in the darkened, but not silent, streets of New York City. Was he thinking of you? Did he ever try to find you?

 

You shook your head violently. Now was not the time to be thinking like that.

 

You pulled up into the little twenty-four/seven hardware store you always got your paint from. Waving at the unknown employee at the counter, you made your way to the shelves of paint, and grabbed three of the ‘antique white’ cans. All the whites looked the same. Did it matter which shade you got? The cans were actually really heavy, and you were straining under the weight. The employee at the counter rung you up, and took the notes you were holding out, all while looking at the phone in their hands. While it was rude, you decided not to comment on it in favour of getting to your car. Popping the cans in the back seat, you cracked your back as you got back into the front seat. It was hurting more and more lately, maybe a doctor’s trip was in order.

 

It only took a half hour to get back to your shop, and you set up, the pots in stacks beside you. The paint cans were open, and the fumes were already filling up the closed space. All your pots for the flowers were hand painted, you claimed it added to the intimacy of a soulmate bouquet. You ended up working until about seven the next morning, but you had enough flowers in all colours for thirty bouquets, and all thirty pots were painted. You left the sign on the door on ‘closed’ as you left the shop to grab a coffee from the Starbucks a block away.

 

Upon coming back to your shop, you saw a man in a very, very expensive suit, sunglasses, and the fanciest watch you’d ever seen standing outside. You slowly approached him, coffee in hand sloshing about in its cup as you got nervous. You found it hard to interact with people other than customers. “Excuse me sir? May I help you?”

 

The man looked up at you, his eyes flicking to his watch, then back to you. “Yeah, do y’know what time this place opens?” He asked you, gesturing to the shop.

 

You giggle lightly, fishing the keys out of your pocket and unlocking the shop. “Right now. Welcome to the New York Bloom, how may I help you?” You walked inside the shop, beckoning him inside, and pinned your nametag to your shirt. Taking your place behind the counter and tying one of the aprons stashed in one of the drawers around your waist, you gave him a bright smile, and then promptly froze.

 

Tony fucking Stark was in your shop. Holy shit.

 

“My friend placed an order for me yesterday, her name’s Nat. She said I needed to go to the place to pay the owner and show ‘em my mark.”

 

“I’m the owner, my name’s ___. Thirty soulmate bouquets total to six hundred dollars please. I know your name already, but I need to see your mark to personalise the bouquet, is that okay?”

 

“Sure thing kid.” He swiped his credit card across the machine attached to your computer/register.

 

“I’m not a kid Mr. Stark.”

 

“Don’t call me that, it makes me feel old. Also, I’m like three times your age, I can call you kid.”

 

“I’m twenty-five.”

 

“Okay then, twice your age. You don’t look twenty-five though, your soulmate’s a lucky person.”

 

You froze, and your hands immediately busied themselves tugging down your sleeves. You looked away, your cheeks turning bright red as you avoided his eyes.

 

The billionaire began apologising. “Oh, shit kid, sorry, I thought you’d have found yours by now.”

 

“So did I.” you replied, voice cracking ever so slightly. You hated this, not knowing who your soulmate it. “May I please see your mark now Mr. Stark?” Your voice had gone much quieter.

 

You could feel his pitying eyes linger on you as he placed his right hand on the counter, the back of his hand decorated with intricate writing that read ‘Pepper’. The symbol was a pale blue, the same colour as the sky, and shaped like an apple. “’s cute.” You commented, giving the man a smile.

 

He didn’t respond. He felt bad about the soulmate comment.

 

“I can have these done by this time tomorrow, Mr. Stark. Is that all?” You needed to close the shop for the day to work on these arrangements, and you wanted some time alone, especially after the soulmate was brought up.

 

“Yeah, see you tomorrow ___.”

 

“Have a nice day, Mr. Stark.”

 

He didn’t correct you this time as he left the store. You sighed, and sent a text to Joel and Mia telling them not to come in. You locked the door to the shop and hid in the back to arrange the bouquets. Looks like another all-nighter.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“You were right Nat; the shop and the owner are pretty cute.” Tony had changed out of his suit into some jeans and a long sleeve shirt. The man went to pour himself a glass of whiskey, not meeting the redhead eyes.

 

The female arched a perfect brow at him. “This is too early to be drinking, even for you. What’s up?”

 

Tony sighed, downed the glass while shuddering at the burn, and refilled his glass. “I made a comment about soulmates. Turns out she hasn’t found hers, and she's twenty-five. I feel bad for her.” He stared down at his mark absentmindedly. After Pepper, he couldn’t remember how his mark had looked without colour.

 

“Isn’t the statistic ninety-two percent of people find theirs before eighteen?” Bruce pitched into the conversation, coming to stand next to Natasha and putting an arm around her waist.

 

“Yeah, it is.”

 

The rest of the avengers could hear the conversation from the couch in the living room. None of the ream were especially quiet in a casual setting. Thor was holding a bottle of something truly potent smelling and the colour of apple juice. The rest of the team chalked it up to a type of Asgardian drink. “I don’t understand these soulmarks you Midgardians have.”

 

Clint chuckled a bit. “They’re to help you find the one. Your soulmate, your other half, the person who you’re meant to be with forever.” Clint’s mark was in the most awkward spot of any of the Avengers, his being at the base of his spine, just above his ass, so no one had seen it.

 

“Asguardians have no such mark. We have no need. Once we meet our soulmate, our world gains colour. Mine did when I met Jane Foster.” Thor always liked to boast about his girlfriend.

 

Steve kept quiet throught this exchange. He felt guilty. His soulmate was probably that poor florist who had to live without a soulmate. However, he loved Peggy. No one could take his heart like she did.

 

“Oi, Capsicle, Legolas, Point Break, I’m gonna need your help tomorrow. I ordered thirty bouquets of flowers for Pepper, and I’m gonna need help getting them tomorrow, you guys up to help?” Tony wandered into the living room and sat himself across Thor and Clint’s legs.

 

“I cannot, brother Stark, I have a ‘date’ with Jane” Thor seemed to just ignore the fact he had a man sprawlled across his legs.

 

Clint patted Tony’s head. “Sure thing. It’ll give me a chance to show off my muscles.” A quiet ‘Shut up Clint,’ came from the kitchen where Bruce and Natasha were raiding Tony’s wine storage.

 

Steve didn’t want to help. He might interact with the florist, and then their marks could change colour, and then he’d have to break her heart by telling him he loved someone else. Against his better judgement, he agreed as well.

 

He was just curious about the shop.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Your quiet Tuesday was interrupeted by a limo pulling up outside your shop. You thanked whatever god out there that it was still early and the shop was quiet. Joel gave you major side eye, confused but interested. "Oh yeah, we had a celebrity customer, forgot to mention that."

Joel gaped at you a bit, before heading into the back. You knew he was sneaking off to see his husband but you let him. Your only motivation for moving right now was the six cups of triple-shot espresso in your system right now. Mia had been especially helpful this morning, running to get coffee. You also knew she was just sneaking out to go visit her boyfriend who worked at the Starbucks around this time, but at least she wasn't blaringly obvious about it. "Can you hold down the fort?" She nodded. You left yourself a mental note to give her a raise later as you went to greet men stepping out of the car.

"Hi Mr. Stark and friend!" You greeted them politely, before turning back into the store. "The flower arrangements are on that table over there, the blue and white ones." 

"So this is the cute florist you and Nat told us about?" The stranger had short, spiky hair, blue eyes, and had a fair bit of muscle.

He was kinda intimidating. 

"Yeah, that's her." 

You went to shake the strangers hand. "My name's ___, nice to meet you Mr...?"

"My name's Clint, or as you know me, Hawkeye. Nice to meet you too, kiddo."

You were a little fed up with people calling you kid, but pushed your annoyance aside considering they had saved your city. "Well boys, you don't need me to help with moving these do you?"

"No thanks ___, you've been a big help already." Tony and Clint picked up a pot each, and began making their way back to the limo. You reassumed your spot at the counter, watching the avengers do their thing.

As you were watching them, you saw them pass the flowers to a third man wearing a cap and sunglasses. You couldn't see him very well from where you were standing, but you noticed his head turn to look in your general direction. Your soulmark twinged a little as you looked at him, but you brushed it off. You waved your hand at him through the glass of the store walls, and gave him a smile.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was when the captain felt it. A warm sensation through his wrist when she waved at him. He knew that she was his soulmate. The, from what he could see, cute florist's name was on his wrist. His mark hadn't changed, because they'd never properly met, but just the sight of you seemed to placate the loneliness his mark instilled in him.

He waved back. 

He didn't know why, but it was worth it as your face split into a grin. 

No, this was wrong. Peggy. He loved Peggy. 

He put his head back down and went back to putting flowers in the car.

But after the flowers were loaded in and the car sped back to the tower, he couldn't get you off his mind.

And you couldn't stop thinking of the handsome man outside your shop as you drove back to your apartment. You pushed open the door, and your thoughts of the man as another male demanded your attention. 

"Aw sorry Snowball, I had a couple of big days." 

The ragdoll cat meowed at you, demanding your love.

Until you found your soulmate, your cat was the most important guy in your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for such a positive response on the first chapter!!! I just had to pump out another one, which is admittedly, Not that exciting, bUT there will be some proper interaction soon!
> 
> Remember to drink your school and stay in milk children!
> 
> Starplex out!!


	3. The Part Where Steve Finally Lets Peggy Go

It was well overdue. He’d refused to call her so long. Maybe it was time he went and saw her. It was bad enough he had left his best girl all alone in the forties, he owed her a visit. He had tracked her down, and his heart broke a little seeing she was in a retirement home. The other avengers had left him alone, seeming to sense he was a little off that day, and he was grateful that they were all perceptive people. He booked the earliest flight possible to Washington D.C., and within a couple of days, he was on the plane, heading to meet his best girl, Peggy, for the first time in seventy years. He’d left a note stuck to the TV, which was a sure-fire away to get the team to note something. The note explained where he was and that’d he’d be back in a day or so. 

The retirement home was mostly white, smelled like a mix of cleaning chemicals and old people, and was filled with the quiet chatter of staff and patients. The staff let him in immediately and guided him to Peggy’s room. 

There she was. 

Aged, hair grey and face now wrinkled, but unmistakeably Peggy. Her eyes were closed. He knocked on the door, and they opened at the sound. Her azure eyes widened as they landed on him. The man she’d known in the forties, still young and still…

Alive.

“You’re alive! You… you came, you came back.”

“Yeah, Peggy.”

“It’s been so long. So, long.”

“Well, I couldn’t leave my best girl. Not while she owes me a dance.”

The elder’s face set into a small smile. “You haven’t owed me that dance, Steve. You read my file, right?”

“Yeah. So, you found the one?”

“I did. I’m sorry Stevie.”

The super soldier knew of course. The files had detailed everything. She had married, had two children. She had lived a good life all while he was trapped in the ice. Peggy deserved to be happy, but he couldn’t help but be sad he wasn’t the one for her. “Don’t be.”

“You haven’t found yours then?”

“No, but I have an idea of who it is.”

“Then why aren’t you with them?”

He was taken aback. “Why wouldn’t I be with my best girl?”

“I’m not the one for you Steve. I loved you to bits but finding them is the best sensation on the planet. When you finally find them, fall in love with them, what we had will pale in comparison. You’re keeping someone from experiencing the best thing in life, you’re keeping yourself from it too. What we had wasn’t going to last forever, we both knew that. It’s time to move on. The world has changed and none of us can go back. All we can do is our best. And sometimes… the best we can do is start over.”

She placed her frail hand on his cheek, and he leaned into her touch. “I love you, Peggy.

“I love you too Stevie. But I can promise you’ll love them more.”

Suddenly, a look of confusion crossed her face. “Who are you?” He felt his chest sink, the Alzheimer’s was affecting the elder, and it was strange for him. 

He smiled at her, patted her hand, and stood up. “I’m a friend.”

As he left the home, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Like he was free. 

His flight home was quiet, but his thoughts were loud. Thousands buzzed in his mind, most of them thinking over what Peggy had said. His thoughts slowly drifted to his soulmate. What were they doing now? It was still early; the shop would be open. Were they smiling at the customers entering the shop? Waving at people through the windows? Arranging more bouquets for people who had found their soulmates? Maybe they were chatting to their co-workers, getting coffee, cleaning a shelf? It didn’t feel wrong to think about them anymore. His mark buzzed a little, satisfied with the idea of finally meeting the one. But he wouldn’t do it today, he had far too much on his mind. The flight touched down, and he called Tony to let him know he was on his way home. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What’s up, ___?”

Mia looked at you in concern. Your mark had been hurting badly all morning, hindering your work. You’d dropped a pot of very expensive orchids, and spilt fertilizer all over Joel. And now you’d just curled up on yourself, rubbing your wrist in order to soothe the pain, and maybe sooth your soulmate. “Yeah, I’m alright, my soulmate may not be though. Any ideas?”

The teen looked thoughtful, before answering. “Before I met Oliver, whenever he was hurt, it would hurt a bit, but emotional pain hurts a lot more. Whenever he had a depressive episode, it would almost… burn. I’ve heard the later in life you go without meeting them, the more the pain is amplified. It’s likely your soulmate isn’t just sad, but experiencing depression, or maybe grief.”

Your soulmate? Depressed or grieving? You wanted to give him a hug. If the bone-splintering pain in your wrist was anything to go off, they were hurting pretty bad. The mark hurt like this for a few minutes, and the pain faded. Instead of hurting, it just became slightly warm. “What does it mean if the mark is warm, but not painful?”

“It often means positivity. They could be incredibly happy, confident, experiencing relief, excited, or lustful.”

Your soulmate was okay now. The mark was normal now, if you touched it, it would feel slightly warmer than usual. “When did you become such an expert on soulmates, Mia?” You teased your youngest employee gently, a playful smile on your lips as you started transferring a few growing plants into bigger pots. 

She ducked her head shyly. “I’m studying it at school. I’m taking medical and soul-based courses. I really wanna look into the science behind soulmarks.” Mia gestured to her thigh, where her soulmark was only just visible through her tights. Hers was the handwriting and name of one of the Starbuck’s baristas, Oliver. The symbol was a pair of pale purple bones. “I’ve already learned so much. Like, the marks can be their aspiration in life, like mine. Ollie wants to be a palaeontologist, hence the bones. They can refer to their work, a favourite something, or something that represents them as a person.” You smiled at her, her interest in the subject was cute.

You affectionately brushed her long, jet black hair out of her eyes like you usually did for her. You’d come to see the girl as a little sister of sorts. Mia rolled her eyes at you, but you didn’t miss the way her pierced lip jerked up slightly in a smile. “What do you think a star inside a ring is?”

She looked surprised. “Usually marks are a single shape, or if there’s two separate parts, they’re the same thing. Like, a skull, or a pair of bones. Two different shapes are very rare. According to my professor, marks with more than one shape means that your soulmate is an important person.”

Your eyebrows came down in a frown. “Everyone’s important though?”

This elicited a shrug from the teenager. “I dunno, just what I’ve been told. I’m gonna go fetch Jo from the tattoo parlour again, see you soon ___.”

Damn Lucas, always stealing your employees. Joel’s soulmate was charismatic for sure, he was just like that. But you’d really appreciate it if you didn’t have to go over there three times a day to stop Jo, your employee, from making out with his husband. You’d never fire him or anything of the sort, but sometimes he got on your nerves.

Whatever, you’d finish potting these plants, and then close early. You could use some quality you-time, which was just cuddling with your cat and watching Brooklyn-Nine-Nine or Riverdale.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The tower was quiet when the captain returned that evening, which was a shocker considering the teammates he had were loud, and hard to miss. 

“JARVIS? Where is the team?”

“Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are currently in their lab, Miss Romanov is in the training room, Mr. Barton is outside the tower, and Thor is in his room.”

“Any reason none of them are out here socializing?”

“They thought it would be best to let you have time to yourself, sir.”

The avengers were a mess of powers, backstories and people, but they were an incredible team and Steve couldn’t help the swell of affection and gratitude for the team rising up in him. He decided against watching TV, and went to his room.

For now, he had more pressing matters. 

How he was going to introduce himself to that cute florist.

The one with the beautiful smile and kind eyes.

The one who bore his handwriting on her skin.

His soulmate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof here have this light angst on steve's part
> 
> this is short, but I wanted to bridge the last chapter and their meeting in the next chapter!!
> 
> also I am aware their convo isn't the same as the canon, but I changed it bc I cAN bC IM THE AUTHOR
> 
> anyways thanks for the positive response so far lovely people 
> 
> drink your school and stay in milk children


	4. The Part Where You Finally Meet Steve

It had been a week and a half since the Iron Man had visited your shop, and you’d been getting even more popular. Mr. Stark wasn’t exactly subtle, and when an avenger buys stuff from you, people instantly flock to that shop. You’d almost doubled in sales, and you’d been able to give Mia the raise you had wanted. It was one of those rare weeks where everything had been gone right. You ran a hand through your hair. It was a few hours until closing time, and Mia and Joel were out on their break. The shop was empty, and so you decided to flip the shop sign to closed and take a break yourself. You locked the door and put a little card in the window letting people know you were on break. Mia and Joel had keys, and if they didn’t have them then they’d text you, so you didn’t worry about locking your employees out.

Stepping into the back, you rummaged in your bag for the container of spaghetti you had brought from last night’s dinner. As you ate your spaghetti, you absentmindedly wandered over to the sunflowers. You’d have to order more, they were always popular this time of year. An odd noise reached your ears, and you put down your Tupperware full of spaghetti to check on it. The store lock was jiggling, but you couldn’t hear Joel and Mia chatting. “Guys? Mia, Jo? Is that you?” It had been a solid thirty seconds. They’d have a key, which took mere seconds. You slunk around to your counter and pawed around the spare aprons. The three of you had agreed to keep a pocket knife hidden in case of emergencies. You grabbed it, the orange handle seemed out of place in your hands. Holding it tightly in your hands, you took a defensive stance behind your counter.

The door flew open with ridiculous force, slamming into a wall and leaving a handle-shaped hole in the wall. Goddamnit. Two people strode into your shop, both wearing all black. Their eyes landed on you, and they both smirked. They seemed to be a male and a female duo, and the woman had a cigar between her lips. The man was holding a pistol. Your knife seemed a lot more useless like this.

“Would ya look at that, Bonnie? Seems we found ourselves a rabbit.” 

“Sure did, Clyde. Wonder how much money this ‘lil bunny makes from her purdy flowers.”

You couldn’t help snickering. “Oh my god, there’s no way those are your real names. Also, what the fuck, you’re breaking and entering in broad daylight. With a gun. Are you guys stupid? Taking the names of famous criminals will not help you at all if you don’t know how to actually commit crimes properly.”

‘Clyde’ pointed his gun at you. “Seems the bunny is a little braver than we thought. Why don’t you put down the knife and we don’t shoot?” Your anxiety began to peak, the distress rolling from you in waves. You placed the knife on the ground and put your hands up. The two chuckled at you, ‘Bonnie’ forcing you to your knees. 

“Move, scream, call for help, do anythin’ other than breathe ‘n blink, and this bullet goes into yer pretty ‘lil head, courtesy of Clyde over ‘ere. My soulmate could down a giant with ‘is aim, isn’t that right baby?” She cooed at her partner.

“Damn right, sugar. If this bunny moves, we may jus’ have to see how many ways there are to skin a rabbit.”

You could feel the oncoming panic attack. You’d gotten medications and psychiatric help for it when you left high school, and it had been months since your last attack. As you kneeled on the floor as the two criminals ransacked your shop, you quietly clawed at your arms, trying to ground yourself. Why weren’t the police coming? Where were Jo and Mia?

Your mark was throbbing and pulsing, but in your panic, you didn’t notice it.

But in the tower, Steve did. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The avengers, for earth’s mightiest heroes, were a bunch of absolute dorks.

Currently, they were having an arm wrestling competition, and it was down to Thor and Steve, and neither had budged for the past twenty minutes, until Steve’s mark began throbbing so painfully, he had to pull away. “Brother Steven, what is wrong?” Thor was concerned. Everyone was, the super soldier was curled up slightly, rubbing his wrist to ease the pain. 

“I don’t know, my mark’s hurting. This is the worst it’s ever been.” Steve was struck with a wave of worry. What was happening to his soulmate.”

Bruce frowned. “Throbbing pain usually indicates something along the lines of intense negative emotion, like extreme anxiety, anger, or sometimes when they get hurt badly. The most common reason though is a panic attack.”

He was up in seconds, slipping on the magnetic glove Tony had made him and bringing his shield to his hand. “I have to go.”

“Steve, be careful okay?” Natasha patted his shoulder. “Do you want any of us to come with?” 

He shook his head. “I’ll be fine.” And with that he was running to his motorcycle and speeding out of the tower. The mark was basically vibrating at this point, rippling his skin, as if the very mark itself was in agony. He felt himself speed up a bit more, the worry for his soulmate increasing every second. 

When he reached the shop, he could immediately tell something was off. The shop door was wide open, which was odd considering there was a card in the window saying the staff were on break. He hopped off his motorcycle and cautiously approached the store entrance, and he was not happy by what he saw.

The cute florist on the floor, obviously freaking out, scratch marks up their arms, and a gun trained to their head. 

“Darl’, we told you, only blinkin’ and breathin’. Scratching yourself isn’t either of those.”

The female saw the captain first and nudged the man. “And she called for help? You don’t listen, do ya?” As his finger went to the trigger, Steve threw his shield, knocking out the man. The female backed away a bit and picked up the knife you’d dropped. 

“Ma’am put down the knife.” 

Bonnie went to put it down, but attempted to throw it at the captain, missed, and shattered a window. Even in your panicked state, you felt annoyance. A hole in the wall and the window now? Seems like the extra money was going towards repairs. A soft pulsing through your wrist helped ground you for the moment. There was incredibly attractive man in your shop, facing down the burglars with a shield. Wait, hold on, that shield.

You smiled to yourself. You’d gotten four avengers in your shop now. The Black Widow, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and now the nation’s favourite hero, Captain America. Your mark seemed happy being this close to him. You brushed it off and decided to not make any moves until the thieves were out of your shop. 

The captain promptly knocked the female out as well, just as the wail of sirens came near. He took care of handing the duo over to the police, before turning to you. 

“Are you alright?”

His voice was deep and warm, it was like a hug as a sound. You nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay. How did you know I was in trouble?”

He looked away. “A little birdie told me. You’re the owner of this place, right? I’ve heard good things about The New York Bloom.”

You smiled at him, which warmed his heart. You were too sweet. “Yeah, I’m the owner. My name’s ___.” You put your hand out for a handshake, which is what most people do.

The captain chuckled, and instead of taking the handshake, he rolled up his jacket sleeve. Your eyes widened, your name, your hand writing, and the little flower that was turning yellow was displayed on his wrist. “I’m Steve. Nice to finally meet you, ___.” 

You looked at him, and then to his wrist, before rolling up your own sleeve. The mark had turned red, blue and white. “Holy shit. My soulmate is Captain fucking America. Oh my god.” He laughed at you, before gently taking your wrist in his hand. 

“Yep, that’s mine alright.”

You were just… stunned. Half an hour ago, you were getting robbed. And now you find your soulmate. 

“I’ve been looking for so long. So long.”

Your words reminded him of Peggy. 

“Yeah.”

You pulled your sleeve back down. “I… I suppose Mia was right, my soulmate is important.”

“Oi, boss!” 

“___! Are you okay? Lucas texted us saying there was police cars outside the shop!”

You smiled at Steve apologetically. “One moment please.” He smiled back, and you took that as the ‘okay’, and sped towards your friends and employees. 

Mia immediately hugged your waist. “We were so worried, ___, we didn’t know what was happening.” The normally emotionless girl was almost crying, her black eyeliner runny already. You patted her head soothingly, trying to comfort you.

Joel hugged you as well, pulling your head into his chest in the brotherly way he does. “Boss, we were freaking out. We leave for our break, and next thing we know, you’re out here with scratch marks and the shop’s wrecked.”

“Guys, I’m okay. I was rescued.” Their antics always cheered you up a bit. You gestured at the blonde with the shield on his arm. 

“Boss, what’s Captain America doing here?” 

“He saved me.”

“HUH?!” He raised one eyebrow so high it was almost off his face.

“Yeah, turns out he’s my soulmate.”

Mia’s head whipped up to look at you. “You found your soulmate? And it’s an Avenger?!”

You showed the pair of them your mark, which was currently warm and pulsing very softly. 

The teen nudged you back towards the captain. “We’ll fix the shop. You two have time to catch up on.” Joel nodded with her, giving you his cheeky two finger salute, before disappearing inside with Mia to try and clean up as best they could.

You thanked the pair of them, before skipping back to the blonde. “So, we’re soulmates huh? Are you disappointed that it’s me?” Almost everyone knew that Steve and Peggy were an item before he was frozen. 

“No. At first, a little, but I think I’ve warmed up to the idea.” You could tell he was being honest.

“I’m glad you have.” Your phone beeped, letting you know it was time to feed Snowball. “Aw crap, I gotta run, I have to take care of my cat.”

Steve smiled at you. “I’ll walk you home, don’t want you getting into more trouble from criminal duos with bad names.” This made you snort, but you covered it up with a cough.

You practically danced all the way home, the joy of finding your soulmate flooding your system. The captain trailed behind, close enough to be able to protect you, but far enough away to let you do your thing.

Your apartment was close to your shop, and it didn’t take you long to get home, as you unlocked the door and opened it, a white blur shot out of the door. “Snowball, no!”

Luckily Steve caught him, and even picked him up. “Woah, that’s new. Snowball hates most people. Like, claw off their face hates.” This was good, if your cat liked him, you definitely did. You took Snowball from Steve and popped him back inside. “Uh, Steve? Do you have a phone number?”

“Yeah, I do.” You exchanged numbers, smiling as you finally got to name a contact ‘Soulmate’, with a heart emoji next to it of course. “I’ll see you soon, ___. Don’t get yourself in anymore trouble.” Steve lightly kissed your forehead, causing you to blush bright red. 

You smiled and waved as he sped away back to the tower, feeling the happiest you had in ages. 

 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natasha basically flew to Steve’s side when he got back to the tower. “It’s the florist, right? She's your soulmate.”

Steve raised an eyebrow at her. “How did you know?”

“Professional Russian spy.”

“Ah.”

“The team is dying to know what happened. You may as well tell them.”

“They’re gonna go nuts.”

“They already are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh look we got there  
> they have met
> 
> now for dork love, plot twists! angst! drama! romance! and maybe even patriot peeny!


	5. The Part Where Steve Takes You Dancing

“Oi, ___, isn’t it yours and the captain’s first date tonight?” You shook your head at Joel. The man never passed up a chance to gossip and your soulmate was always a popular subject in the two weeks that had gone by since you met him. 

“Shut up Jo, we have customers here.” He was right, it was your first date that evening. Unfortunately, Steve has been busy for the past two weeks, something about ‘Hydra’ bases, whatever that was. Luckily, he was back for the next three days. You’d been texting him all the time, which was always entertaining. Being born one hundred years ago meant he had no idea how to use emojis properly, but he tried. 

Mia, the absolute angel, popped her head out of the back room where she had been ordering some more white lilies. “Jo isn’t it your anniversary tonight?” She joined you two at the counter, the three of you taking advantage of the lazy Thursday morning. 

“Yeah it is. Wanna hear what we’re doing?” Both you and Mia missed the mischievous grin on Joel’s face as he began whispering to you. 

“Oh, that’s cute. Aw, how sweet. Wait. Oh my. Oh my god Jo we don’t need to hear about that! I’d rather not hear about your ‘white bedroom fireworks’.” You covered Mia’s ears with your hands as soon as the man took a dirty turn, the teen sighing as you glared at Joel. 

“You agreed to listen. Not my fault.”

“I’ll fire you.”

“You won’t, no balls.”

You only sighed at him, before pushing his face away with your hand. “When’s this guy coming in for an interview again?” The little bell above the store’s door jingled cheerily as a pale-skinned man walked into the store. 

“I’d say about now,” Mia quipped, earning a slight glare from you. 

The man walked up to the counter, allowing you to see him closer. Hazel eyes, brown hair, slight stubble, glasses with the thickest rims and lenses you’d ever seen and a charming grin. Something about him threw you a little off, but you brushed it off in favour of extending a hand to him. “Adam, right? Nice to meet you, thanks for applying. I’ve read through your resume and I was just going to go over a few things with you in the back. I think it’s likely we’ll hire you. 

Adam gave you a smile that was just a little too wide, before sweeping your hand up to kiss your knuckles instead of shaking your hand. The kiss made you shudder slightly, and your mark burned at the romantic touch of someone who wasn’t your soulmate. “How lovely to meet you, dear ___.” You passed it off as him being friendly, you being in need of another employee desperately. 

“Follow me to the back, and I’ll just go over everything with you.” You discussed the position with him, instead of full-time like Mia and Joel, he’d be part time on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. He flirted with you nonstop, the pickup lines and compliments escaping his mouth every few minutes. You gently tapped his hand with your finger, before mumbling softly, “I noticed you’re flirting with me, and I’m sorry, but I’ve found my soulmate.”

 

Adam only laughed. “I’m just being friendly, my dear. I too, have found mine.” He lifted his green shirt to just under his ribs, allowing you to see the name ‘Avery’, with a pale green bird. 

You sighed in relief, before showing yours to him. “Steve? And a red, white and blue shield? Your soulmate is Captain America?!” He looked stunned, and you sighed. 

“Yes, but its sort of a staff secret. Consider yourself hired, you start next Thursday!” You smiled at him, before guiding him out of the back and out of the shop. 

Mia flocked to your side immediately. “So, didja hire him?” You rolled your eyes at her. You knew she was listening in, her black hair obvious compared to the white walls of the store.

“Yes, I did. Where’s Joel?” The store bell chimed as said man entered, with his husband’s arm around his waist. 

“I’d say about there,” You quipped, mocking the teen’s earlier remark. This earned you an eyeroll of her lovely green eyes. “Jo, I hired the guy. Hey Lucas.”

Joel’s husband had accompanied him to the store, which wasn’t super out of the ordinary for the two. Lucas had a hickey right over his soulmark, Jo had a matching one on his own tanned neck. Lucas knew you saw it, and began making obscene gestures with his hands, you giving him the finger in return. “Okay, look, sex is a part of any healthy marriage, but could you not do it while Jo is working?” This was directed at Lucas, who wore a shit-eating grin as he smacked Joel’s ass right in the middle of your store. You were just glad the only person in here was a deaf gentleman. 

“Yeah, I’m out. I’m grabbing coffees from Ollie, bye.” Mia tuned on her heel, her dark red skirt flaring out as she turned and left for the Starbucks shop her soulmate worked at. She was one of the non-sexual teens of the generation, a gentle soul with no need for alcohol or sex. You did know she did weed, but honestly, the girl seemed to need the respite from life, even if it was illegal. 

You sat up on the counter, legs dangling as you stared at the two men in your shop. “So, are you here to return Jo to work, or for something else?” 

Joel looked at Lucas, and then you. “Make us soulmate bouquets for our anniversary date night?” Jo pleaded, giving you a face full of his brown puppy dog eyes. 

You rolled your eyes and held out your hand for a ten. You made it cheaper for them, not free. 

The rest of the morning was uneventful, and the afternoon was spoiled a little by an angry customer, but other than that, the day had been slow but normal. “I’m closing up early,” You announced to the store, turning off the back room lights. You closed at six, a whole three hours before you usually do, but you paid it no mind. Both you and Joel had things to attend to, Joel being the path of rose petals onto his bed, and you with the first date. 

You hadn’t been on a date before, nor kissed anyone, claiming they were reserved for your soulmate. But that left you in a pickle, as you no idea what to wear, or how to act. You just brushed it off as date jitters, instead taking a breath to clear your head, before calling Khloe. 

Khloe was a friend from high school, and you had known her for over a decade. You two had been friends since she was ‘Jake’. Khloe was transgender, and you’d supported her every step of the way. Now your fashion-forward guy friend was your fashion-forward, bleach blonde, stunning female friend, and you wouldn’t trust anyone else to help you with first date fashion crisis.

She picked up within three rings. “___, honey it has been too long!” She switched on FaceTime, allowing you to see her face. You immediately did the same. “What’s up boo?”

“I’m going on a date.”

“I thought you were saving that for your soulmate?”

“Well, I have.”

“YOU FOUND STEVE?!”

“Chill! Yes, I did, but that’s besides the point. I don’t know what to wear on a first date, or any other dates. He said smart casual? I don’t know, help me Khloe, you’re my only hope!”

She lifted a perfect brow at your dorky Star Wars reference, before clasping her hands together. “Okay, do you still have those black leggings? Yes? Good, they make your butt pop.”

You sighed at her bluntness and pulled them on. Good ol’ Khloe.

“Okay, now that dress, the red one with the lil’ straps. Hm, that dark blue jacket I got you for Christmas. And those dark blue converse, the ones with the cute red stars on the sides. You have no need for makeup, you look flawless.”

Once you carried out her instructions, she looked you over, and gave you a thumbs up, her beautifully done cotton candy pink nails a stark contrast to her pale tan skin. “You look flawless.”

“Thanks a million, Khloe, couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You could have, but you’d look like an embarrassment. Have fun on your date sweetie. Text me the details later!” She blew a kiss goodbye which you pretended to catch.

With that you hung up, and began the wait for Steve to knock on your apartment door.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Okay, but do you think ___ will like it?”

“Oh my god Capsicle, I hacked into her laptop and she's pretty into the whole old-school rock and swing. You’ll be fine. Now stop pacing, you’re fucking wearing out my carpet.” Tony rolled his eyes at the captain’s worrying and threw back his third shot of whiskey since the conversation had started ten minutes ago. 

Steve sighed at the curse word, before leaving the room. “I’ll see you later, wish me luck!” he announced loudly to the tower.

A chorus of ‘Good luck!’ came from the team as he headed to his motorcycle, the loudest being Tony’s “You’ll need it Capsicle, its been almost seventy years since you last had a date.” 

As he sped towards the building his soulmate lived in, the rumble of his motorbike soothed him. It was meant to be, it was okay. He’d made a good choice of date venue, he’s be okay at this. 

He hoped.

He felt anxious walking to your door, his jeans feeling a little more uncomfortable. Steve was subconsciously pushing his sleeves to his elbows, more aware of how the red shirt clung to him. Even after a few years of getting used to the culture of this century, he still felt a little out of place when it came to fashion. He took a deep breath and knocked on your door.

A grin made its way onto his face as he heard your voice yell a faint “Coming!”, and it stayed there when you opened your door and gave him a smile. “I swear I’m ready it’s just Snowball is being a little bitch.”

You had a potty mouth apparently, but he didn’t mind. Somehow the curse words sounded sweeter coming from you. “You look incredible, sweetheart.” This made you blush, and you opened your mouth to respond, but you were cut off as Snowball made a dash for freedom and was once again swept up into Steve’s arms. The cat seemed fine with this however, and only purred as Steve gave him attention. “You really need to start behaving for your lovely owner. Sorry kitty, but you can’t come.” He gently handed him off to you, and you popped him gently on the couch, closing the door before he could run out. 

“I’m so sorry for him, he’s been a terror today. He doesn’t own me as much as he’d like to think. I think he’s jealous there’s another male in my life.” He chuckled a bit at that, before holding his arm out to you. “You’re such a charmer,” you teased as you took his arm, and a giggle escaped you as his cheeks dusted pink. “So, how’d you get here?”

Steve wouldn’t admit it, but he loved how your jaw dropped at the sight of his motorcycle. “Is that a Harley-Davidson?!”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

You loved the motorcycle. You’d ridden them before, and the feeling of wind in your hair was one you’d missed. The fact your body was flush against the captain’s back may have had something to do with why you were enjoying it so much. Its not your fault, you had eyes, you were human, and your soulmate was an incredibly handsome super-soldier. Steve was warm too, acting like a heater in face of the freezing wind. Your jacket wasn’t especially thick, and neither were your leggings, making you press even closer to Steve. He didn’t seem to mind. 

Your destination confused you a bit. “The Forties throwback?” Your voice held a question as you dismounted the motorcycle, taking off the helmet you were wearing. Safety was more important than your hair, and with a quick run-through of your fingers, it looked fine again. Scanning your eyes over the building, you smiled. “A dancehall? I didn’t know they had these in New York.”

“Yeah, a little birdie told me you were into swing and so I thought you’d like this place.”

“I do. Good thing I took those dancing lessons in high school!”

You two walked in, and in a moment of boldness, your fingers trailed down his arms, and you caught his hand in your own. Your fingers weren’t interlocked, but Steve smiled down at you. The place was teeming with people, and your eyes instantly flicked to the dancefloor. The music was loud and seemed to be swing-type music with modern elements showing through in the form of bass and some more electro-swing songs. A few soft rock songs here and there for good measure. The walls were covered in photos of partygoers in the years gone by, and many of the had moustaches and beards drawn on. The air smelled like sweat, a mix of perfumes and colognes, and alcohol from the bar in the corner. This place was like a blend of the forties and the current year, and you were loving it.

Steve held his hand out to you, a cheeky grin on his face. His sleeves were rolled up, and were showing off his wonderful arms, and more importantly, his soulmark. “Care to dance, sugar?” 

You gave him a grin of your own. “Sure thing, Cap,” you teased, taking his hand in your own.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Report.”

“Target is confirmed soulmate of Captain America.”

“Proof.”

Photos were thrown down onto the table, each of them of your mark. There was no mistaking the shield, or the Captain’s writing which he had obtained hand-written snippets of earlier in his mission.

“Excellent. We can now proceed to phase two. You will infiltrate her life, learn routines and find out as much as you can.”

“Yes sir.”

“Hail Hydra.”

“Hail Hydra.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your walk wasn’t entirely straight as you hopped off the motorcycle, Steve following suit. You two were both pleasantly surprised that the other could swing dance so well and had rocked the floor. At some point, you’d started drinking, in moderation of course. You were tipsy, but your soulmate was unaffected, the serum stopping him from going anywhere past a faint buzz no matter how many shots he did. It was now very late, past midnight, and you two were hand in hand as he walked you to the door. “Tonight was fun, Steve. Thank you.”

“I enjoyed it too, sweetheart. Up for another date when I get back from my next mission?” 

“Of course!”

You unlocked and opened your door, catching Snowball and pushing him unceremoniously past you so he couldn’t escape as you said goodnight. He meowed at you indignantly, but ultimately stalked off to go do something else. 

Steve didn’t want to let go of your hand, but let it drop when he saw you go in for a hug, which he returned in full, ending with you giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “Goodnight Steve.”

“Goodnight ___.”

He couldn’t help the dopey grin on his face as he walked away from your apartment. Tonight had been fantastic, and he’d loved every second of it. His mark hummed pleasantly, warming his wrist and his heart simultaneously. 

Too wrapped up in each other's presence, you’d both failed to notice the man hiding on the roof, a camera with fantastic zoom in hand, and a jacket bearing a skull with tentacles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry this took so long to come out but i was working on it and my computer crashed at like, 2000 words and i lost my writing flow for a while, but i'm back!! Anyways, you guys can probably guess who the man on the roof is but whatever
> 
> anyways i know nothing about dates or dancehalls or the forties because i've never been on a date, never been to a dancehall, and i'm born in the 21st century
> 
> Khloe is based on an actual trans friend of mine and shes great
> 
> also, would you guys like me to keep it gender neutral or change it to female pronouns? I made you wear a dress in this chapter i'm sorry to any boys reading this--
> 
> also fanart is appreciated i wont get any bc thiS IS BAD but if you'd like to draw some that would be coolio, just comment a link to it <3
> 
> anyways, drink your school and stay in milk kiddies, see you next chapter! which should be up within 2 days or so!


	6. The Part Where You're Deemed Worthy

Hiring Adam was not a mistake. A fast learner, and he barely ever complained about any job you gave him. Sure, he wasn’t as close to you as Joel or Mia, but he was friendly, and all your young teen customers weren’t subtle with their staring at him. You, Adam and Mia were sipping cups of coffee in a booth at Starbucks and had been joined by Oliver after his shift finished. 

Oliver and Mia were the epitome of young love. His arm was around her waist, and her free hand was resting on his thigh, just above his soulmark. The two of them were the typical ‘I love you more!’ couple, and you were amazed at Oliver’s ability to make Mia come out of her shell. You chalked it up to their soulbond. Oliver was a wonderful kid. He has a wonderful dark complexion, the nicest brown eyes you’d ever seen, and a shy smile that just showed off his perfect teeth. Seeing them together made your heart melt. 

Adam’s soulmate had yet to be seen. You were a bit surprised. It’s been over a month since he’d started working at The New York Bloom, and he hadn’t even mentioned them. With Mia and Joel, you couldn’t shut them up, but he was oddly quiet. He was strange, and he always seemed to be staring at everything for too long, but you passed it off as him spacing out. Nevertheless, you were curious, and decided to (respectfully) probe. “So, Adam, when are we going to meet Avery?”

He ducked his head. “Oh, he’s shy. Poor thing has anxiety, currently taking therapy for it. He’s doing his best.” Adam had such genuine affection in his voice, and you sympathized for Avery despite never have meeting him. You’d also had to go and see people to help you with your anxiety all through high school, and for a few years afterwards. “I could show you a picture of him though?”

You, Mia, and Oliver eagerly craned your necks to look closer at the picture on his phone. An olive-skinned boy was holding a book, obviously engrossed in it. His glasses were slipping off his nose, and his tongue peeked out of the corner of his mouth. Adam looked at the picture with fondness. “Isn’t he gorgeous?” he asked, tone warm. The rest of your group chorused an agreement, and Adam slipped his phone away. “So, how are you and the infamous Captain going?” And just like that the conversation shifted to you.

Now it was your turn to be embarrassed. “Great, actually. We have a date tonight.” He’d recently come back from Sokovia, and he’d been in a good mood, meaning the Avenger’s mission had been a success. They were throwing a huge party at the tower, and Tony had come to the shop to deliver a special invitation himself, before a flustered Steve came into to ask your properly to the party as his date. You’d said yes of course, despite the largest party you’d ever gone to was thirty people, and Stark parties had hundreds.

Oliver looked at you sceptically. “I still have no proof you two are soulmates.” Mia hit his arm because of his rudeness. You only laughed it off and held your left wrist out to him. 

You missed the way Adam stared intently at your wrist, and fiddled with his glasses, but Mia didn’t. The teen narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Okay fine, maybe you are.” Oliver admitted grudgingly. 

Your phone beeped loudly. “Shit guys, it’s time for me to run, I’m meeting Steve at my apartment in an hour and I gotta get ready.” You scooped your credit card and phone in your bag and stood up. Mia stood up too. 

“I’ll come with, you’re not exactly the most fashion forward,” she mocked you teasingly. She gave Oliver a kiss on both cheeks and the lips, mumbled for him to text her when he got home safe, and waved to Adam. Adam oddly gave you a hug, which was new, but not unwelcome. He seemed stiff, maybe he wasn’t used to it?

“See you later Mia, ___.”

“Bye dear! Oh, and good luck on your date tonight American Sweetheart!”

You rolled your eyes at your ragtag group and took Mia’s hand in yours and began leading her to your apartment. You and the teen had hung out a lot, having a sibling-like dynamic. And hey, she loved binge watching Riverdale with you. But you hung around her enough to know when something was off with her, so you decided to say something. “What’s up Mimi? Something the matter?” 

She scowled at the nickname, but you knew she secretly loved it. “It’s Adam. He’s off, there’s something about him I don’t like.” Mia looked uncomfortable admitting it. “He’s always looking for a way to look at your soulmark and he hugged you and he doesn’t hug and, and, and his glasses are so thick, and he always fiddles with them when staring at something and I swear I’ve seen that picture of Avery on the internet somewhere and…!” She cut herself off as you entered your apartment and scooped up Snowball unceremoniously.

You thought about it for a bit. You did get odd vibes from Adam, but you wanted to believe the best of people, so you tried not to think about it. But her points were valid. The two of you migrated to your bedroom, you sitting on your bed and she looks through your closet for something presentable. “I… I think you’re right, Mimi, he’s a bit off. But, he’s still new here, maybe he’s just awkward- “

“Have you thought of the danger now that your soulmate is Captain America?”

You froze. The media knew about you after the dancehall excursion, but you hadn’t shown anyone you didn’t trust your soulmark. “Well, honestly, not a whole lot…”

Mia shook her head. “People know about you now, so people can hurt you to get to the Captain. Please be careful.” She pulled out a navy-blue dress you didn’t even remember you owned. “Now go put this on and knock your lover dead.” She offered you a small smile and popped a pair of white heels on the floor and laid out some ruby earrings next to the dress. “I’ve gotta go, I have chores to do. See you ___, text me party details!” And with that, she was out the door. She was no Khloe, but she knew her fashion better than you.

The dress was a dark blue, like if the ocean were wearable, and it flared out at the waist, but not too much, and ended at your knees. White flower details decorated the chest, waist and ends of the dress, and your heels had a few white flowers on them too. As you hooked the earrings in your ears, you knew Mia had gone for the colours of the American flag, and you didn’t look half bad. You brushed your hair, doing nothing fancy with it, and smiled when there was a knock at the door. “Coming Steve!”

You liked how he looked at you when you opened the door. His mouth was a little open, a blush on his cheeks, and his eyes wider than normal. You couldn’t help but giggle. “Is it too much? I don’t know how to dress for these sorts of things,” you mumble sheepishly. 

Steve had taken one of Tony’s cars to pick you up, just in case his Harley messed up your looks with it’s speed. He was prepared to see you dolled up a bit. 

If ‘dolled up a bit’ was a home run, your look was out of the ballpark. You looked so good in his colours. 

He held his arm out to you. “You look incredible, sweetheart.” He loved the way your face split into a grin. 

“You do too.”

With that, you took his arm, and headed to the car.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Avengers tower was huge. So, so huge. It almost made you dizzy thinking about how much it cost. You and Steve parted the crowds like water, and you were soon inside. It was almost overwhelming how much was going on, but you spotted Natasha at the bar. Letting Steve talk to his friends, you made your way over to her. “Hey there Nat.”

She smiled at you, before shaking up the drink she had in her hand and pouring it into a glass in front of you. “Nice to see you ____. I’m glad you’re here. This drink is on the house.” You threw it back. It was amazing. Seemed there was no end to the Black Widow’s talents. “I see you’re wearing his colours.”

“Does everyone know?

“All us Avengers, and a couple others.”

“Speaking of other Avengers, where’s Bruce?”

“Talking with Tony. Once they get into their science stuff, there’s no getting him back.”

“Let me handle it.” 

With that you made a beeline for the two geniuses, gently interrupting their conversation. “Hey Tony, mind me cutting in?” The Stark’s face lit up. 

“Ah, I knew you’d come!” He clasped a hand to your shoulder. “Bruce, this is the florist behind the soulmate bouquets, and Capsicle’s soulmate.” You smiled at Bruce, and held out your hand for a handshake, which he took. 

“Pleasure to meet you, ___.”

“Likewise, Dr. Banner.”

“Please call me Bruce.” And then he whirled around and headed to the bar, and you winked at Nat’s grateful smile to you. 

You folded your arms gently. “This is such a nice party, Tony.” The man had given you permission to call him Tony when he delivered your invitation. He preened at your praise, a cocky smirk on his face. “Isn’t it? Where’s your date?”

You scanned the area. He was with a dark-skinned man, playing pool. “Over playing pool with… Sam? I think.” You took the moment to admire how good Steve looked in his tight blue shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows and being the traditional guy he is, buttoned all the way up. His black jeans complimented it nicely, and you were fairly sure Tony could tell you were checking out his butt. 

“Anyway, feel free to stay for the afterparty with just us special few.” He winked at you, and disappeared, leaving you to wander over to your soulmate, get introduced to Sam, and play some pool. You learned within five minutes you were shockingly bad at it, and after a few games, simply decided to watch Sam and Steve while the latter had an arm around your waist.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After all the guests had gone home, save for the Avengers, Rhodey (who you’d been introduced to by Tony; he liked you because you thought his stories were funny), Maria (who intimidated you but was friendly) and Dr. Helen Cho (who you liked the best out of the three non-Avengers), you cuddled into Steve’s side as the team engaged in their friendly banter. You smiled at Nat, who was doing the same thing with Bruce, and wiggled your eyebrows jokingly. She flipped you off with a good-natured grin. You and Nat’s friendly, non-verbal conversation was interrupted by a deep laugh from Thor.

You’d met the Asguardian earlier that evening as well and had taken an instant liking to him. He was funny, told good stories, and had done shots with you. What wasn’t to like? Well, he did call you small, but that was just fact. Over the course of the evening, you’d met all the Avengers and hung out with all of them. They seemed to all think you were adorable and had congratulated Steve on his luck. 

“But it’s a trick!” Clint protested to whatever Thor had previously said. The archer was twirling a drumstick for some unknown reason. 

“Oh no, it’s much more than that.” Thor grinned at Clint, and passed a pair of beers to Steve, who gave one to you. 

Clint rolled his eyes. “Whoever be he worthy shall haveth the poweeeeer,” he mocked, voice deep, before snapping back to usual. “Whatever man, it’s a trick!”

The Asguardian gestured to Mjölnir, a cheeky smile on his lips. “Well please, be my guest.”

Clint looked to Maria (she sat next to him so he wouldn’t be lonely on the floor) and then back to Thor. “Really?”

“Yeah!”

The archer got up and made his way over to the mystical hammer. 

“Oh, this is gonna be beautiful.” That was Rhodey.

“Clint, you’ve had a tough week, we won’t hold it against you if you can’t get it up.” That was Tony. His comment made you giggle, but you took a sip of your beer to cover it up when Clint flashed you a look.

Clint gripped it with one hand, drumsticks in the other, and pulled, his face contorting. “I… still don’t know how you do it!”

Tony made another quiet comment which you missed, but Clint didn’t. “Please,” he gestured to Tony. “Stark, by all means.”

A quiet chorus of ‘uh-ohs’ came from the group as Tony stood up, declaring “Never one to shrink from an honest challenge.” He shoved Clint out of the way with his shoulder playfully. “It’s physics.” He slipped his hand through the wrist strap, grabbing Mjölnir tightly. “What, so if I lift it, I rule Asguard?” 

“Yes, yes, of course.” Thor had all confidence Tony couldn’t lift it. You didn’t think he would be able to either. You didn’t think anyone other than Thor would be worthy, but you decided to just observe the fun. 

“I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta.” And with that, he started lifting. When it didn’t budge, he let go, announced he’d be right back, and came back with a gauntlet from his Iron Man armour. Ten minutes later, Rhodey’s arm was encased in the War Machine armour and the two were trying their best.

“Are you even pulling?” 

“Are you on my team?”

“Just represent, pull!”  


“Alright, let’s go.”

Of course, that was a bust as well, and Bruce stepped up. This resulted in him fake-hulking out and failing to lift the hammer as well. Nat shook her head and beckoned him to sit back with her, patting his arm to console him. Steve moved to get up, and you gave him a kiss on the cheek for luck. “Go Steve, no pressure,” Tony mumbled. You and Helen grinned as he pushed his sleeves back further. “Come on Cap.” Tony couldn’t help but goad him.

Steve gripped Mjölnir and pulled. It moved slightly. Thor’s face dropped. Nobody else other than you and the god seemed to notice, and you grinned in pride. Your soulmate was doing the best out of all of them. A couple more tugs and he gave up, pulling his arm out of the wrist strap and holding his arms up in surrender. Thor smiled at him, laughing nervously. “Nothing,” He said, and you gave him a look. 

Bruce cleared his throat and gestured to Nat, a cheeky smile on his face. “And Widow?”

“Oh, no, no, that’s not a question I need answered.” She declined and took a sip of her own beer.

“All deference to the man who wouldn’t be king, but it’s rigged.” Tony said, popping open another beer to nurse his, no doubt wounded, pride. 

Clint hit him on the shoulder, his own drink in hand. “You bet your ass.”

You and Maria shared a look, before you nudged Steve. “Did you hear that?”

“Steve, he said a bad language word,” Maria finished, and Steve sighed loudly. 

“Did you tell everyone about that? Who told ___?” He shot Tony a look.

It had been Tony in fact, and because you’d been drinking and the fact that the captain actually said “Language!” in the middle of a battlefield was so funny to the pair of you. You’d gotten a few looks from passers-by, but it was worth it, and you weren’t going to let it go any time soon.

Tony gestured to the hammer. “The handle’s imprinted right? Like a security code. ‘Whoever is carrying Thor’s fingerprints’ is, I think, the literal translation.”  
You sighed in friendly exasperation at the groups antics. Clint, who refused to sit on a chair normally, was now sitting on top of one, with his feet where a person’s ass would usually go. Tony and Rhodey were standing up and had shed their gauntlets. Maria was actually sitting on a sofa opposite Thor (like a normal person), and Bruce and Nat were cuddling close. Helen sat near you and Steve, but far enough away to give you two the space you needed. Steve had his arm around you, and you were resting your head on the junction between his shoulder and chest. 

Thor got up with a chuckle. “That’s uh, a very, very interesting theory. I have a simpler one.” He picked up the hammer with ease, giving you all a slightly cocky smirk as he did it. He threw the hammer up, making it do a flip, before catching it again. He was obviously showing off a little. “You’re all not worthy.”

The group simultaneously let out noises of disapproval, mostly groans and mocking laughs. You only giggled a little and drained the rest of your beer. Nat looked right at you, before a cunning smile stretched across her lips. “Well, ___ didn’t have a go.”

You shot her a glare, but unfortunately, Tony was on board. “Yeah, why not? What’s the worst that could happen, you can’t lift it? Neither can any of us.”

“Yeah, go on.”

“Give it a shot, ___.”

“Just do it!”

Shaking your head, you shifted even closer to Steve. “I’m fine where I am, thanks.” Suddenly, a horrible metallic noise rang out, making everyone cringe. You covered your ears, the noise sounded like when a microphone didn’t work properly and made an awful sound. Another noise followed, one that sounded like a zombie, grating and wordless, but horrifying nonetheless. A half-constructed robot shuffled around the corner, missing half an arm, and most of it’s plating. It looked strikingly similar to the Iron Man suits, but it was obviously made for an AI, not a human to wear. 

“No…” The robot spoke, voice deep and menacing. It gestured to your group with its half-arm. “How could you be worthy? You’re all killers.” It – or he – seemed to stare directly act you. “Most of you, anyway.” 

Steve stood up, and stood in front of you, not breaking eye contact with the robot. “Stark?”

“JARVIS?” Tony asked, but got no response from the tower’s AI. He pulled out an odd tablet-like thing and began tapping. 

“I’m sorry, I was asleep. Or I was a dream…” The messy hunk of metal tilted its head, looking genuinely confused. 

“Reboot, we got a buggy suit.” Tony kept tapping, brow furrowing slightly.

“I heard this… terrible noise… And I was tangled in… in strings.” The robot staggered around slightly, dripping fluids from its broken body. Nat and Bruce were on their feet now, and you gently held Steve’s hand. You were scared. “I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.” 

Steve cocked an eyebrow slightly and tightened his grip on your hand. “You killed someone?”

“Wouldn’t have been my first call,” the robot replied. “But, bound in the real world, we’re faced with ugly choices.” Everyone was up now other than you, Maria and Helen, but no one made a move for weapons, seemingly trying to interrogate the bot first. 

“Who sent you.” Thor’s tone of voice wasn’t really a question, more a demand for an answer.

A squeaky noise, like a recoding being rewinded came from the robot, before Tony’s voice came from it. “I see a suit of armour around the world.” 

Bruce looked at Tony, stunned. “Ultron,” he breathed, not seeming to believe it. Everyone was looking between Tony and Bruce, confused.

“In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this… chrysalis.”

Thor was the first to arm himself, twisting Mjölnir in his grip, followed by Maria who readied a pistol in her hands and stood up as well.

“I’m on a mission.” Ultron sounded sure of himself. 

You could feel the oncoming anxiety. Something bad was about to happen. Steve pulled you closer to his side, hand in yours. 

“What mission?”

“Peace in our time.”

The sound of glass shattering filled the air as the AI known as the Iron Legion shot thought the wall behind Ultron. One headed directly for you and Steve, and he pushed you as gently as possible to the ground, before kicking up the table everyone had just been sitting around. The bot flew straight into it, knocking Steve back. Maria dropped to the ground nearby, and began firing her gun, before tossing you a pistol. “It’s loaded, just squeeze the trigger!”

You saw Thor swing Mjölnir directly into one of the Iron Legion bots, and Tony getting knocked into a bookshelf by another. You had no time to help him though, as Rhodey had just been blasted into the Quinjet holding bay, groaning loudly. “Rhodey, are you okay?” You scrambled to look over the edge, and after confirming he’d be okay, ducked behind a chair for cover. 

An Iron Legion machine sped towards an odd sceptre and took it in its hands. With a jolt, you recognised it as the sceptre Loki had wielded in the New York attack. Jumping into action, you shot a few bullets at the robot, but it seemed useless. Looking up, you watched as your soulmate jumped on a bot, giving it a few blows to the head, until the bot flew backwards and crushed him against a wall. Your mark burned, alerting you that he was in pain. The robot let him fall to the ground, and you dashed over to him. “Steve are you okay?” 

“Don’t worry about me, take cover!”

You did as you were told, spotting Helen behind the piano, unarmed. You dived next to her, pushing her slightly behind you. A bot missing its bottom half began hovering towards you two, looking like it was going to attack. You looked into its eye lights, shaking in fear but holding the gun towards it bravely. You heard Ultron hum, and the half bot lowered its arm, only to be grabbed by Steve and flung into Thor’s hammer. He instantly pulled you to him, holding you close. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine, now your team needs you!” 

Tony dug a tool into the second robot’s neck, dropping it onto Thor, making the god lose grip on Mjölnir. Clint ran out of nowhere, yelling: “Cap!” The archer threw the shield to Steve, who did a sort of half spin and flung it into the middle of the third robot, cutting it in half.

Ultron turned to walk away. “That was dramatic,” He commented, sounding almost bored. “I’m sorry, I know you mean well, you just didn’t think it through.” Steve stepped forward, Tony pulled himself up, and Nat and Bruce looked on from the balcony. “You want to protect the world, but you don’t want it to change.” The rest of the team was slowly recovering, standing up. “How is humanity saved if it’s not allowed to… evolve?” He picked up the upper half of the robot Steve had cut in half. “Look at these… these… puppets.” Ultron crushed the robot’s head in his grip, before throwing it away. “There’s only one path to peace… the Avenger’s extinction.”

Thor went to fling his hammer, before realising he had dropped it. 

“I don’t know what your idea of peace is, Ultron, but exterminating the Avengers isn’t the way.” The whole room turned to look at you. “Through my eyes, the way you just attacked us makes me think you’re no more evolved than us humans.” Tony smirked at you proudly. 

Ultron’s voice took an amused lilt. “Oh? You’re not an Avenger, an ex-agent of SHIELD, you’re not a scientist. What would you know?” 

You don’t know what overtook you, but you crouched down, looped Mjölnir’s wrist strap around your wrist, and began to lift it. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as you successfully pulled it up. It wasn’t heavy in your hands at all. Your eyes flicked down to the weapon, before back at Ultron. “Apparently more than you.” And you threw it directly into the centre of Ultron’s chest, knocking the robot into the wall and breaking the weak machine apart. The hammer flew into your hand again, making you lose your balance from the recoil. Ultron’s body’s eye lights flickered out. 

Everyone seemed to let out a little sigh of relief. Nat and Bruce came back down to the lower level, and all the others gathered around you. You held Mjölnir out to Thor, a sheepish smile on your face. “I think this belongs to you.” 

Thor took it, looking at you, shock on his face. “You’re… you’re worthy.” 

You offered him a smile. “Don’t worry, I don’t want to rule, Asguard.” He laughed at that, pulling you into a bone-crushing hug, before turning to Steve with a huge Thor-sized grin. 

“I only met Lady ___ this evening, Brother Steven, but I have the feeling she will be great not only for you, but for the team.” 

Steve turned pink at that, mumbled a ‘thank you’ to Thor, before pulling you into his arms. “You’re incredible ___. Absolutely amazing.” You could tell he meant it, and your soulmark pulsed happily at his words. 

Tony cut in, obviously a bit butthurt that you could lift it, but proud of you as well. “It’s been a huge night, and I really don’t think anyone should leave the tower tonight. Helen, would you be willing to take a look at Rhodey?” The doctor nodded, a little stiff from such a wild night. “Thanks. Maria, ___, you’re welcome to stay in one of the spare rooms on the Avenger-Security floor.”

“Usually I’d decline so I didn’t bother you, but I don’t really feel great. Thanks Tony.” He gave you a one-armed hug, before walking out of the room to go take care of Rhodey, followed by Bruce and Helen. 

Your soulmate took your hand gently. “Come on, I’ll show you to spare rooms.” You willingly followed, chirping a goodnight to the team, and receiving goodnights in return. Steve lead you to an elevator, which seemed to recognise him by some technology you didn’t understand, which began going up. 

And up.

And up.

Steve looked down at you lovingly. “So, apparently my soulmate is worthy to rule Asguard, huh?” 

“I saw it move a little when you tried, you were close.”

The elevator opened, and he headed off to a corridor on the left. “I’m on this floor, so is Clint and Nat. Your room is opposite mine, call if you need anything.”

“Stay with me?”

He looked at you in surprise, but nodded his agreement, and you two fell asleep cuddling together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So heres the run down on soul marks:
> 
> \- appear within a few hours after birth  
> \- person A has person B's name, in peron B's handwriting, with person B's symbol, and vice versa  
> \- The symbols are usually a singular shape, like a bird, or a flower, or a star. there can be multiple, like, a pair of bones is common, but two different shapes (like cap's symbol on reader), like a ring with a star inside usually indicates an 'important' soulmate  
> \- when a person meets their soulmate, the symbol becomes their favourite colour/s, before that, the mark is a silloette a few shades dakrer than the actual skin  
> -soulmarks react to how the person's soulmate is feeling, so if your soulmate is in pain, it'll sting, stuff like that
> 
> Mia has 'Oliver' on her right thigh with a pair of pale purple bones bc he wants to be a paelentologist, Oliver has 'Mia' on his left thigh with a black and purple cartoony soul, since she's so interested in matters of the soul  
> Lucas has 'Joel' on the right side of his neck, with a red pawprint, bc Joel loves animals, Joel ahs 'Lucas' on the left side of his neck with a dark green pen bc Lucas is an art boi  
> Reader has 'Steve' on their left wrist with a blue,red and white shield bc hes captain murica, Cap has your name on his right wrist, with a flower in your favourite colour bc youre a florist
> 
> any questions? Comment!
> 
> ALSO THIS FUCKING CHAPTER IS 4500 WORDS LOVE ME
> 
> yeah so i made art of joel its bad im sorry 
> 
> https://stardust-skyline.tumblr.com/post/175912549072/so-this-is-joel-from-the-flower-shop-on
> 
> i'll do the rest of them when i have energy BC ITS BACK TO SCHOOL TOMORROW AND IM NO T H A P P Y


	7. The Part Where Things Look Pretty Good Until, In True Avenger's Fashion, Shit Goes Horribly Wrong

“Hey Jo, sorry to drop this on you, but I need you to cover the shop for maybe three weeks?”

“Three weeks?! ___, what happened? You went to the tower with the Captain and now you’re been closed off. Are you okay?”

“I… I’m fine. Just, take care of it for me?”

“Sure thing, sweetie.”

“Khloe is going to be working there in my place.”

“I thought she lived in LA?”

“She does, she’s house-sitting for me, taking care of Snowball ‘n all that shit.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you later ___. I’m gonna call Mia and Adam and tell them that you’re not coming in for a bit.”

“Thanks Jo. I appreciate it.”

You tossed your phone onto the bed with a sigh. The Ultron attack had induced your anxiety back, and Tony had noticed. He’d offered the room to you for as long as you needed, and you’d accepted. Mia’s points about Adam combined with the fact Ultron was still out there made you paranoid beyond belief. Steve had been doing his best to comfort you in two days since the ‘peacekeeping’ robot had gone rogue. A soft knock at your door made you perk up, and you opened it to smile at Steve. “Hey, ___.”

The negativity was practically oozing from him and you led him to your bed. You sat cross legged in the middle, Steve perched awkwardly on the side. It was obvious what was being a downer, Tony and Bruce had been looking for any sign of Ultron non-stop, and they’d warned you couldn’t attend the mission. “So, we found him,” he said, grabbing your hand in his, and rubbing his thumb across the back of your hand soothingly. “We don’t think the tower is especially safe for you to stay in, neither is your apartment, and you most certainly can’t come with us. Would you be okay with staying with Dr. Cho for a few days while we go on this mission?” Steve looked at you apologetically.

You gave him a weak smile. It would be dangerous, and you wouldn’t be there for him. “Of course. Don’t look so guilty, it isn’t your fault. I don’t mind staying with Helen at all.” You shuffled across the bed to his side and put your head on his shoulder.  
“Gosh, kind, understanding and nice to look at. When I go to meet the maker, remind me to say: ‘thanks for the amazing soulmate’. Steve wrapped his arm around your shoulders, and held you closer, both soulmarks pulsing contentedly. “We’re flying out in six hours, so we’ll drop into her lab in Seoul before heading to South Africa.” 

You nodded and hopped off the bed to search the closets for a suitcase of some kind. Of course, Tony had one in the huge storage space, and you tried to tug it out of its spot. You could tell Steve was rising an eyebrow at you, and you shook your head. “Yes, I’m fine, I can get my suitcase out!” He only chuckled at you, before getting off the bed and gently nudging you away, before pulling out the red and gold suitcase. You rolled your eyes and put the stupid luggage-holder on your bed. “I so could have done that. But thank you.” You gave him a kiss on the cheek. After confirming yes, the suitcase was Iron Man patterned, you began packing anything you’d need over the next three days, Steve helping where he could. You two ended up packing for the better half of an hour.

Another knock on the door distracted you from your task, and you looked up to see Natasha leaning against the doorframe. “Sorry ___, but we’re having a fancy Avenger’s meeting to go over the mission plan for the next three hours. Clint and Tony never shut up, so it could take longer.” She shot the pair of you a sympathetic look, before walking out. 

“I’ll see you later, sweetheart. Make sure you finish packing before the meeting finishes, so we can do something fun before we have to go.” Steve pressed a kiss to your forehead, before following Nat down the hall. 

You sighed. It was boring packing without Steve. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You sat next to Steve as the Quinjet took off, holding his hand tightly, eyes pressed shut, and music turned up so loud you swore you were going deaf. It was necessary though, as planes taking off gave you major anxiety. After having a particularly bad panic attack when you were younger while a plane took off, you learned that changing what your senses were focused on helped you a lot. When the plane was steady, you’d explore the aircraft, but for now, you were content to cuddle into Steve’s side. Your music was so loud, you were missing the conversation the Avengers were currently having.

“So Capsicle,” Tony said, smirk playing across his lips. “Done anything dirty yet?”

Steve looked mortified. “No. We haven’t even kissed properly yet.”

Now Tony was the one looking offended. “Wow, you guys are so slow.”

“Well excuse me for taking it slow. I don’t want to mess anything up with them.” Steve rolled his eyes at Tony and moved to swat Tony's hand away from poking your nose.

“What’s wrong with slow?” Nat jumped into the conversation, glaring at Tony as she threaded her fingers through Bruce’s hair. 

“Nothing, nothing! It just, when Pepper and I found out we were soulmates we immediately- “

You groaned quietly, shutting everyone up as you sat up and pulled your earbuds from your ears. “Who the fuck is making all the noise,” you said, trying to sound threatening. By the was Steve mumbled and ‘aw’, you knew it wasn’t working. Tony looked shifty, and you made a mental note to prank him or something later. “Also, you people argue too loudly. What’d Tony do this time?”

Said man squawked indignantly. “You blame me? You don’t even know what happened!” He flicked your shoulder, which earned him a soft glare from Steve. “Anyway, we were just discussing soulmate stuff.”

You looked at him with interest. “Oh? I’d love to listen. I don’t know a whole lot though.”

Steve gave Tony a warning look. Tony only grinned back. “Did you know people usually become hyper-sexual with their soulmates?”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah? Everyone knows that.”

“So, have you and the Cap done anything like that?” Tony’s grin was so smug. 

You shook your head and reached a hand up to play with Steve’s hair. “I’d like to take it slow. I’ve gone twenty-five years without this dork,” you gently nudged your soulmate with a grin. “And I didn’t have anyone else before that. So, I’m still getting used to the whole romance thing. It’s great so far, I really like Steve, the universe did me a solid there,” He gave you a smile, and kissed your forehead. “I think we’re fine where we are.” 

Steve nodded, blue eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled at you. “We’re more than fine, sweetheart.” 

Clint stuck his head out of the front seats of the jet, Thor following suit. “We’ll be arriving in Seoul in a few minutes.” “We shall be landing soon, ___, be sure to enjoy the rest of the time with your soulmate!”

You gave them a thumbs up and spent the last of your time on the plane engaging in banter with the team, all while holding Steve’s hand. It went by too quickly, and before you knew it, you were exiting the plane, Steve following close behind with your luggage. With a wave to the rest of the Avengers (they all waved back with a hearty goodbye), you stepped out of the aircraft, and made a beeline for Helen, who had just exited the pristine white doors of the U-GIN Genetic Research Facility. The doctor approached you, a smile on her face. “___, it is good to see you,” she gestured to your bags, and a few boys who looked like lab assistants took your baggage from Steve. “It will be nice having another friendly face around. 

You gave her a quick hug. “It’s nice to see you too Helen. Have you been well since the incident at the tower?”

“I have. Before we get too deep into conversation, you’d best go say goodbye to the Captain.” She took a few steps back to give you two privacy. You ran up to him, and he immediately wrapped his arms around your waist. Your arms shuddered slightly when they came into contact with the cold metal of his shield as you wrapped your arms around his neck. 

“I’m gonna miss you Steve.”

“I’ll miss you too. But I’ll be back in a few days at most.”

That didn’t stop you from worrying. From the conversations around the tower, you’d gathered that the team hadn’t faced anything like Ultron before. You didn’t want to lose your soulmate after only knowing him for a couple of months. “Promise?” You asked, voice cracking. 

He smiled at you. “I couldn’t leave my best girl alone for longer than that.” 

With a sigh, you buried your head into his neck, trying to blink back tears. ‘I will not cry, I will not cry,’ you thought desperately, determined not to make a scene. The mix of anxiety, and happiness from being called his ‘best girl’ made your mind spin. Your head was gently lifted by Steve’s hand cupping your cheek. You looked at him, a little confused. He pressed his forehead to yours gently.

“Can I… May I kiss you?”

You blinked at him, unsure if you heard him. He had an adorable, hopeful smile on his face, looking a lot like a really buff puppy. Your lips tugged up at the corners. 

“You may.”

With that he closed the gap between your mouths. His lips were slightly chapped, but still mostly soft, and he put the perfect amount of force behind it. He was gentle but firm and sweet and passionate all at the same time, and if you knew kissing your soulmate would have been that good, you’d have tried kissing him earlier. He pulled away after a few seconds, dopey grin on his face. “Well, I have to come back for more of those.”

You rolled your eyes and nudged him away gently. “Your team needs you. Go save the world, soulmate.” 

“I will. Take care, ___.”

He turned around and walked back into the quinjet, where he was greeted with a thunderous roar of approval from Tony, Clint and Thor, who had been watching the whole exchange. You smiled at them, waved as the jet took off, and headed back over to Dr. Cho. She gave you a smile and a gentle pat on the arm. “That was your first soulmate kiss, right? I can tell, 연인.” You blushed and didn’t meet her eyes. “It’s fine, it was like that for me too. Now come in, I’ll show you to your room, and then I’ll show you to the lab. Stark did some digging, you didn’t mention the Bachelor of Medicine you have to us at the party.”

“Well, my mum had a biomedical degree, and told me I’d never do as much as her. I wanted to prove her wrong, but more importantly, make her proud. I went one step further and did a full medical course. After the Chitauri invaded New York, I realised that life could be over any second by weird aliens or something, so I decided to be a florist, like I had always wanted to be,” You explained. 

Helen nodded thoughtfully, turning a corner. “Well, I admire you for making the choice to do what you really wanted to. That takes courage. Here’s your room, 연인. Take two lefts and a right, and you’ll arrive at the main lab. See you there, ___.” She left you in the room, which was unsurprisingly pristine and white. Your suitcase and extra bag were propped up against the bed, a double bed with a thick duvet and a pair of pillows. The bed was the only thing in the room that wasn’t white, instead being light shades of purple and blue. The wall opposite the door into the hall included another door. A quick peak revealed it to be an ensuite, and you popped your toiletries inside the room and stuck your toothbrush to the mirror. 

After doing a quick peak around the room which yielded two more pillows, a fluffy blanket and the discovery of a minifridge, decided to head to the lab. A few lab assistants greeted you. Their names were Jaehee and Hyun, a pair of young female soulmates who had met in this very lab. Jaehee had explained to you that they would be assisting you with anything you needed, and that they’d hoped you’d be able to help them. 

“We’ve been working on this cradle,” Hyun had said to you, showing you a rather impressive device. “It’s intended to heal wounds. It grafts a simulacrum of organic tissues to the patient, and hypothetically, should be able to create synthetic tissues as well, but it seems to reject the samples we test in it. We don’t know the problem.” 

You looked over their notes with interest. “Here, look, this mock protein stops rebuilding too early, and this faux chromosome is in the wrong spot.” You pointed it out to the girls. They gasped, taking the notes from you. 

“Dr. Cho, Dr. Cho!”

“We’ve had a breakthrough!” 

They ran to Helen hand in hand, excitement radiating from them. They’d immediately altered the machine. Within four hours of non-stop working and input from you, the cradle could create synthetic tissue as well as organic. Helen took you and the girls out to eat, and you decided that you absolutely loved both Korean Food, and the females with you. You and Hyun were chattering away as she had done a medical degree to prove people wrong as well, and neither Jaehee nor Helen could shut you up, and decided to engage in a talk about improving the cradle instead. It was late now, and while it was only your first day, you were enjoying yourself immensely. As you approached the lab again, Helen dismissed Jaehee and Hyun. “What did you think of your first Korean food, 연인?”

“Absolutely incredible Helen. I can’t believe you get to eat that every day!” You turned a corner, walked through a doorway, and immediately froze. 

“Scream, and your entire staff dies.” You recognised that voice. 

Ultron. 

“I could’ve killed you both the night we met. I didn’t.”

“Did you expect a thank-you note?” Helen asked him, brow raised slightly.

“I expect you to know why,” He said, red eyes boring into the pair of you.

“The cradle…” You mumbled, eyes flicking over to the machine you were working on mere hours ago.

“This… is the next me.” The AI touched the cradle delicately, almost fondly.

“The cradle prints tissue,” you pointed out. “It can’t build a living body.”

Ultron’s eyes flicked to Helen. “It can, you can.” He said, referring to her. “You just lacked the materials.” A different drone-looking robot stepped forward, a cylinder full of a metal in its hands. You recognised it after a few seconds. Vibranium, the rarest, strongest metal of them all. You remember Steve mentioning his shield was made from the substance. “You’re a brilliant woman, Helen.” An odd glow filled the room. You realised Ultron was holding the sceptre, the one at Tony’s party, the one Loki had wielded in the New York Attack. You knew it controlled people, and Ultron had just pointed the tip to her chest. “But we all have room to improve.” Helen shuddered, and you couldn’t tear your eyes away as her's turned black, then blue. 

“What about me?” You looked the robot dead in the eye, back straight. “You could have killed me as well, why didn’t you?”

The killer machine chuckled darkly and moved around you in circles. “Oh, ___, you sweet, sweet thing. Soulmate of Captain America himself, and innocent civilian dragged into this world of war and conflict. Like Helen, you are not a killer. You are not responsible for disrupting peace, and as such, are worthy of great things,” He said, obviously referring to Thor’s hammer. “Originally, I was going to kill you here, but then I realised that would be such a waste. I have fortunately gained some allies in a pair of enhanced, twins given incredible powers by the sceptre. Why not make you one as well? You’d change, you’d evolve for the greater good, and I know for a fact the Avengers would think twice about hurting you.” 

You gave him a look. “I refuse to be some guinea pig for you, Ultron.” 

The tip of the sceptre was at your chest in an instant. “You don’t have a choice.” Was that a female's voice?

You couldn’t tell, but in a flash of red and blue light, everything burned incredibly painfully for a few seconds and your vision went blurry and gained black spots obscuring your sight. A second wave of what you thought was magic hit you, and you succumbed to the darkness. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve felt like absolute shit. The mission in South Africa had resulted in an even bigger mess. Ultron had made off with a shittton of vibranium and had apparently gained the help of the enhanced from the Hydra Sokovia base. He’d been enchanted by the girl, his mind taking him back in time, before he was frozen, to Peggy. His mind had been elsewhere, and to make matters worse, Bruce had gone full green and in Stark’s attempts to subdue the Hulk, they’d managed to destroy a huge part of Johannesburg in the crossfire. The team had been forced into hiding and had taken refuge in the middle of nowhere, in a safehouse set up for Clint and his wife. 

Turns out the reason Clint’s soulmark was always covered was not only because it was above his ass, but because he didn’t want anyone knowing who it was. A lovely woman named Laura Barton, his wife and mother of his two (soon to be three) three kids, Lila and Cooper. The team had been surprised but were incredibly grateful to the woman for letting them into her home. Thor had gone MIA, claiming he needed to go check something out from his vision from the enhanced, and had disappeared. Now that Steve’s head was mostly clear from the Maximoff’s attacks, he could only think about ___. Tony had told them on the plane about her degree, and Steve had been rather impressed. Was the lab fun? Was seeing such a huge structure full of medicine and chemicals fun for his soulmate? Steve only hoped he’d be able to see her within the three-day window he had promised. 

Trying to be a help, he’d volunteered to go chop wood for the Barton’s outside, and Tony, in true Stark fashion, didn’t want to be outdone, and had decided to chop wood as well. As Tony swung his axe down, he looked over to the super soldier. “Thor didn’t say where he was going for answers?” 

Steve looked over to Clint and Cooper using a measuring tape on the patio. “Sometimes my teammates don’t tell me things. I was kind of hoping Thor would be the exception.”

“Yeah, give him time. We don’t know what the Maximoff kid showed him.” Tony set up another block of wood as Steve swung his axe down on his. 

“Earth’s mightiest heroes,” he said incredulously, shaking his head slightly. “Pulled us apart like cotton candy.”

Tony raised an eyebrow, before taking a dig at the captain. “Seems like you walked away alright.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I don’t trust a guy without a dark side, call me old-fashioned.” 

Steve wanted nothing more than to roll his eyes at Tony. The soldier knew old fashioned better than anyone else. “Well let’s just say you haven’t seen it yet.”

“You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart,” Tony said, seemingly abandoning chopping wood for the moment.

“I guess you’d know,” Steve retorted. “Whether you tell us or not is a bit of a question.”

“Banner and I were doing research.”

“That would affect the team.”

“That would end the team! Isn’t that the mission? Isn’t that the why we fight? So we can end the fight, so we can go home? You can’t tell me you wouldn’t prefer spending time with ___ than fighting robots and aliens.” 

Steve had had enough and ripped the block of wood in his hands clean in half, forgetting the axe in favour of his muscles and pent-up anger. “Don’t you bring my soulmate into this. Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time.” He ended the conversation there, seeing Laura approach them, and ask Tony for a favour. He nodded at Steve, before walking in the direction of the shed.

“Don’t take from my pile.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If he was being honest, Steve wasn’t immensely surprised that Nick Fury had shown up suddenly. It was now late evening, and everyone was dressed casually and were reclining around the kitchen and living room of the Barton’s house. Steve smiled at Lila as she walked past, before looking back to Fury. “Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he’s building something. With the amount of vibranium he made off with, I don’t think it’s just one thing.” Steve nodded along, listening to the former SHIELD director, but watching Nat and Lila interact as the little girl showed her ‘aunt’ a picture. 

“What about Ultron himself?” He asked, arms folded as he leaned against a doorframe.

“Oh, he’s easy to track, he’s everywhere,” Nick said. “The guy’s multiplying faster than a catholic rabbit. It still doesn’t help us get an angle on any of his plans though.”

“Is he still going after launch codes?” Tony asked, throwing a dart at the dartboard hung on the nearby wall.

“Yes, he is.” Nick sounded fairly nonchalant about the situation. “But he’s not making any headway.”

“I cracked the Pentagon’s firewall in high school on a dare,” Tony said. Everyone on the team had heard the story, and it was not news in any way, shape or form.

Nick rolled his eyes at the genius. “Well, I contacted our friends at the Nexus about that by the way.”

“Nexus?” Steve asked, not knowing what that was.

Bruce chipped in helpfully. “It’s the world internet hub in Oslo. Every byte of data flows through there. Fastest access on Earth.”

“So, what’d they say?” Clint chimed in, a dart in his fingers. 

“He’s fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed,” Said Nick.

Tony looked up. “By whom?” A dart flew by his face, imbedding itself in the bullseye. Tony gave Clint a look, who was standing on the other side of the room. The marksman gave him a shrug. 

Nick looked up from his drink. “Parties unknown.”

“Do we have an ally?” Natasha asked hopefully.

“Ultron has an enemy. That’s not the same thing.” The former SHIELD director put emphasis on the ‘not’. “Still, I’d pay folding money to know who it is.”

Tony looked thoughtful. “I might need to visit Oslo. Find our ‘Unknown.’”

“Well this is all good times boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you you’d have more than that.” Natasha sounded like a mix of tired and sarcastic.

Nick looed surprised. “I do, I have you.” He gestured to the team. “Back in the day I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream of. Now here we are, back on Earth, with nothing but our wit and will to save the world.” Bruce’s eyes flicked up to look at him. “Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction.” He moved his arms around as he said his next words. “All this laid in a grave.” Everyone was looking at him now. “So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard.”

Natasha saw the opportunity and took it. “Steve doesn’t like that kind of talk.”

Steve shook his head, but he was smiling. “You know what Romanoff?” She only smirked back.

“So, what does he want?” Nick looked to Steve, who caught on.

“To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies.” Steve looked at Tony, who finished the thought. 

“Person bodies. The human body is inefficient, biologically speaking, were outmoded.” The Stark sounded almost confused. “But he keeps coming back to it…”

Nat looked between Tony and Bruce. “When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed.” Steve couldn’t help but agree. 

Bruce had picked up the picture Lila had drawn, a rather pretty yellow butterfly. “They don’t need to be protected,” He mumbled. “They need to evolve.” He looked at the group, who had all turned their attention to him. “Ultron’s going to evolve.”

“How?” Fury looked up from his drink in interest. 

Bruce looked up at everyone, worry on his face. “Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?”

Steve felt his heart drop. Of course, the cradle, the machine that had miraculously healed Clint after taking a brutal injury from the Sokovian Hydra agents. He began to worry his lip with his teeth. He had left his soulmate with Dr. Cho, and he wasn’t there to protect her. If Bruce was right (which as very likely he was as Ultron is partially his brainchild), ___ was going to be completely vulnerable to a psychopathic robot. The super soldier gave everyone a look. “We have to move out as soon as possible. Ultron can’t be allowed to- “

He was cut off by a massive wave of pain through his right wrist, like his bones were splintering and his artery split in half. “Steve?” Nat was on her feet, Bruce hot on her heels as they steadied Steve. “Is it your mark?” Steve nodded rapidly, before another wave of pain flowed through the mark, making him moan in pain before gritting his teeth. 

Steve let out a sigh as the mark’s pain subsided slightly, though it still felt like there were needles in his skin, he could move it without too much pain wracking it. “Something is very wrong back in Seoul. We have to go now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall i fucking love the well of good marvel art tumblr has provided me. o yeah i have tumblr now go follow if u want
> 
> anyway, you knew it was coming, reader gon be enhanced bc I wnt steve to tell them 'i love u no matter what' at some point
> 
> anyway im posting this 4500-ish word chapter at 1 am fucking appreciate me pls
> 
>  
> 
> i was like 'helen is sweet she needs more nerd friends' so booM UR SMARt 
> 
> 연인 means sweetie! Basically helen went 'aw science cutie must be big sister' so helen and reader are gonna have a sibling type dynamic kinda
> 
> i may have named Jaehee after the hot chick from mystic messenger (i just wanna romance her, im gayhee for jaehee), we needed cute, happy, nerd lesbians so now we have cute happy nerd lesbians but idk when they'll be back


	8. The Part Where Things Are Still Looking Pretty Shit, Ultron Is A Cocksucker

Everything hurt. It hurt to move, to breathe, to think. The sound of machinery whirring made you wake up, you could hear people talking, Ultron, Helen. You forced your eyes open. Luckily the lab was dark, making it easier for your eyes to adjust. A soft groan escaped your mouth as you tried lift your head to look around. “Good, you’re alive! I’ve successfully evolved you,” Ultron crowed proudly.

Using Helen’s line from earlier, you hissed at him. “Do you expect a thank you note?”

He smiled at you, which was incredibly unsettling. “No. I expect you to help us.”

“Help you? With what?” You stood up slowly, muscles screaming in protest.

“My mission, peace in our time.”

“No, I mean your real mission.”

The conversation broke off when the cradle opened, and you gasped softly. What looked like the beginnings of a human body lay inside. It seemed to pulse, lines running all over its body. The cradle itself seemed to glow a soft blue that lit up the room. “It’s beautiful,” Helen said. Your eyes flicked over to the Korean scientist, who was standing at a computer showing the cells of the body inside the cradle. “The vibranium atoms aren’t just compatible with the tissue cells, they’re binding them.” You noted her eyes were still blue. “And SHIELD never thought…” she trailed off the end of her sentence as Ultron studied the being inside the cradle.

“The most versatile substance on the planet and they used it to make a frisbee.” The robot’s voice was full of contempt. “Typical of humans,” Ultron said, and walked over to the sceptre, which had a laser trained onto the blue gem imbedded in it. “They scratch the surface and never think...” As he said that, the blue gem shattered, and a smaller, yellow gem began to rise. “…to look within.” 

Helen looked at the gem, curious even in her mind-controlled state. The yellow stone settled itself into Ultron’s hand, and he placed it in the centre of the new bodies’ forehead. You looked at Ultron curiously. “What on Earth is that?” 

“Nothing for you to know. You have more important things to worry about. You survived the sceptre’s energies, as well as an enhanced’s at the same time. It’s more than likely you have a superpower now. You will go with the twins, and you will co-operate, or Helen dies at the end of all this.” A pair of people walked into the lab, a female with long, brown hair and green eyes, and a man you assumed was her twin. He had silvery hair and a smirk. “The twins will take care of you. You are to valuable to lose at this stage.”

The male twin took a step towards you. “I am Pietro, and this my sister, Wanda. We won’t hurt you if you co-operate.” 

You tried stepping back, only for your back and hands to meet the cold steel of the lab walls. The girl, Wanda stepped forward, hands glowing slightly. “Please, Уважаемые, we only want to help you.” She gestured to your right arm, which was currently steel grey, the exact same colour as the walls of the lab. You pulled away from the wall with a shriek, touching your right hand with your left. It was metallic, your arm had turned into the same substance as the wall. Ultron didn’t seem to notice

Wanda gently took your flesh hand and began leading you to a separate area. “Your powers will be weird and hard to control at first, it will be okay Уважаемые, we will help you.” Pietro nodded along with her. Her voice soothed you, and you followed the twins. 

“You also gained powers from the sceptre? Was it Ultron? Did he do it to you?” You couldn’t help but ask tons of questions, and as you turned another corner, you noticed the steel up your arm was slowly fading back into regular skin, though your hand was still cold and grey. 

“No, it wasn’t. We were helped by someone who had a common enemy. When we were ten, a mortar shell dropped through our apartment, killing our parents and trapping us in the rubble. Another shell dropped next to us, but we it didn’t go off. For the days it took rescuers to dig us out, we waited for it to blow up, but it never did. We were rescued successfully, but we never forgot the name on the side, Stark.” Pietro hissed the last name venomously. 

Before you could probe further, the twins showed you a room, large but not empty. “This is where Piet and I have been honing our powers while Ultron builds his new body. We’re going to help you now. It seems you have the power of substance mimicry, basically, turn your body into the materials you touch, like how you turned your arm into steel back there.” Wanda was kind to you, gently leading you to a table full of various weapons. 

“We can’t always rely on our powers, so we both carry few other knives and whatnot with us,” Pietro said, handing you a blue-tinged knife. “This is a cobalt alloy, a personal favourite of mine. Go ahead and touch it.” You reached out, and gently took a hold of the blade. Almost instantly, your hands began turning the same blue tint. 

Wanda smiled at you. “Good, seems you have no problems activation your powers. The hard part is controlling them.” Your body all the way from your neck to your knees had become the cobalt alloy. “Try and stop it before your whole body become metallic.”

You tried your best, focusing on slowing down your cells from changing. You were able to stop it for a second, but ultimately turned entirely blue. You gave the twins an apologetic look, your metal features contorting just as your normal face would. They only smiled. “It’s okay, now we can test you.” Pietro immediately took the knife out of your hands, and attempted to plunge it into your thigh, only to rip your jeans and bounce off your hardened skin. He handed you another knife, one with a regular steel blade, and your blue skin became grey in your hands, and then your arms as your cells changed to match. This went on for several hours, until you could control what part of your body changed. Touch titanium, and you could change just your hands, or your face, or your chest. The twins were very proud of you and had insisted you rested. Powers were very draining for new users. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day, you had wandered back into the lab with the cradle, Helen and Ultron with the Maximoff twins by your side. Ultron looked up at you three. “Oh, just the enhanced I wanted to see. Tell me, what gifts did your evolution bestow upon you?” You gave him a dirty look, but placed your hand on the closest wall, cells mimicking the metal and turning your entire right arm grey before you stopped it. “Substance mimicry, an incredible ability. Your cells are now like my next body’s,” Ultron explained, gesturing to the cradle as he sat down in a chair next to it. “Your tissues are now compatible with, not just vibranium, but any substance you touch. Truly a versatile gift.” He sounded please, and you fought the urge to snap at him.

Helen plugged a cord into the back of the Ultron’s head. “Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream. We’re uploading your cerebral matrix… now.”

Wanda looked at the AI, looking confused. “I can read him. He’s dreaming,” she commented, seemingly mystified by the idea the robot could dream.

“You couldn’t read him earlier?” You asked.

“When I first met him, no.”

“I wouldn’t call it dreaming. It’s Ultron’s base consciousness,” Helen explained. “Soon- “

Ultron cut her off. “How soon?” After a pause, he lifted an apologetic hand. “I’m not being pushy.”

“We’re imprinting a physical brain. There are no shortcuts, even with your magic gem” Helen spoke not impolitely but didn’t beat around the bush either. While the two were having their conversation, Wanda gently place her hands on the cradle. Her eyes close, but her eyelids continued to flutter as she seemingly ‘read’ Ultron’s mind while it was vulnerable. Not five seconds later, she jerked away from it with a cry. You steadied her and brought her back over to her twin while rubbing her shoulder gently. Ultron stood up, still connected to the cradle. 

She panted heavily, looking up at Ultron. “How could you?” Her voice was full of betrayal. 

“How could I what?” Ultron asked, but you had a feeling he already knew. 

“You said we would destroy the Avengers… make a better world…” You looked at her in shock. Destroy the team you had grown to love? Although Pietro had said their parents were killed by a Stark weapon… seems that the twins had been misguided. 

“It will be better,” Ultron protested. 

Wanda’s voice was confused and scared. “When everyone is dead?” She raised her brow slightly. 

“That is not…” Ultron cut himself off, and you knew that that was his plan. “The human race will have every opportunity to improve.”

Pietro pulled his sister in closer, and then seemingly as an afterthought, you as well. “And if they don’t?”

Ultron fixed his gaze on you. “Ask Noah.”

“You are a madman…” Poor Wanda was struggling with coming to terms with what she had seen in the AI’s mind. 

“There were a dozen extinction level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs.” Bringing a statistic into the argument wasn’t helping Ultron’s case at all. When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it.” He craned his neck forward toward the three of you in an attempt to intimidate you. “And believe me, he’s winding up. We have to evolve.” He caressed the closed cradle in the fond matter he did. “There’s no room for the weak.”

In the corner of your eye, you saw Wanda’s hand glowing red, while Pietro spoke. “And who decides who’s weak?” The magic in her hand rushed towards Helen, and you saw your friend blink, before her eyes returned to their usual dark brown.

“Life. Life always decides,” Ultron chuckled, but stopped as a small beeping emanated from him. “There’s incoming. The quinjet. We have to move.” Pietro put his hand on his sister’s cheek, slowly leading her away.

Helen looked up, making the twins and Ultron stop in their tracks. “That's not a problem,” she said, as Ultron gave her a curious look. She tapped away on the computer, and from where you were standing, you could see she had paused the download. Ultron somehow rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance, before firing a blast at her. You swore you screamed her name, before Pietro grabbed your hand along with Wanda’s and dashed away, leaving a stuttering Ultron far behind. 

“What now?” Wanda held onto her twin as you stood on the streets outside the lab, looking between the two of you with wide eyes. “Where are we supposed to go?”

“We’re going to help the Avengers.” The twins looked at you, confused. “I know you don’t like them, but I can promise that they’re trying to stop this madness. I know you have problems with Stark, even I can see he’s royally fucked up before, and I’m his friend. But they’re not trying to kill everyone…” They still looked unconvinced, until you rolled up your sleeve to show them your mark, which had stayed oddly normal for the past few days. “The Captain is my soulmate, so whether or not you guys are coming, I need to get out there and help him and the team. Sometimes rage gets the better of us, and we let our desires for revenge consume you. The best thing can do is to forgive. “

Pietro put a hand on your shoulder. “We will help you. We may have only known you for a day, but I hope you consider us friend as we do.” You smiled, gave the silver-haired boy a smile, and began mapping out a plan to jump into the fray.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The quinjet had dropped Steve off a little way off from the lab, giving him a clear view of the facility. “Two minutes, stay close.” He soon ran into the lab, running straight towards Helen who was panting heavily. “Dr. Cho!” He called, grabbing a cloth and pressing it to her wound. “Where’s ___? Where’s Ultron?”

“___is with the Maximoff twins.” Steve was worried, until Helen grabbed his arm gently. “They freed me from Ultron’s control, it seems they’ve switched sides. She's safe with them. Ultron... He’s uploading himself into the body,” she explained, voice breathless. 

“Where?” She shook her head, as if to say she couldn’t answer that.

“The real power is inside the cradle,” she said, stopping the captain from running off. “The gem… Its power is uncontainable… you can’t just blow it up.” Helen looked Steve in the eyes. “You have to get the cradle to Stark.” 

“First I have to find it.”

“Go.” 

He ran out of the lab again, tuning into the team’s communicators. “Did you guys copy that?” 

“We did,” Clint acknowledged.

“I got a private jet taking off across town, no manifest,” Nat chimed in the from the other side of the quinjet. “It could be him.”

Clint shook his head and nodded downwards. “There. It’s a truck from the lab. Right above you Cap, on the loop by the bridge.” Nat looked up from her device to have a look. “Got three with the cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver,” Clint offered, but Steve immediately shut him down.

“Negative! That truck crashes and the gem could level the entire city,” Steve commanded as he climbed up a matinence ladder to get above the truck. “We need to draw out Ultron.” After he said that, he flung himself off the side of the bridge, and landed on the roof of the truck. Steve climbed down onto the doors on the back of the truck and was thrown backwards by a blast from Ultron. He hung onto the door, and as he looked inside when the door swung back, he narrowly missed another laser. “Well, he’s definitely unhappy! I’ll try and keep him that way,” Steve spoke into the coms. 

Clint, still up in the jet, shook his head slightly. “You’re not a match for him.”

Steve sighed at the wonderful vote of confidence. “Thanks Barton.” Steve was thrown off the lab truck completely and hurtled into another car, cracking the windscreen. Jumping off that car and then grabbing onto a garbage truck, he swung himself up onto Ultron’s truck again. The AI hovered out of the truck, floating at the opposite end of the truck. 

“Do you know what’s in that cradle?” Ultron asked, throwing another blast at Steve which he deflected with his shield. “The power to make real change, and that terrifies you.”

“I wouldn’t call it a comfort,” Steve quipped back, before throwing his shield into Ultron, provoking him to try and blast him again. The Captain kicked his shield at the robot, and it imbedded itself in his chest.

“Stop that!” Ultron pulled the shield out of him and threw it onto the road. Now defenceless, Steve took a direct hit to the chest from Ultron, and flew backwards, grabbing onto the truck’s windshield only to have an Ultron drone punch though the glass. He scrambled back onto the truck and made an attempt to fight Ultron hand-to-hand. The robot bested him, and began to choke him, holding him up by his neck, until Natasha drove underneath him, and tossed him his shield that’s he’d lost on the road earlier. Steve swung the shield across Ultron’s face, before getting blasted off the truck again and cracking another driver’s windscreen. Ultron then ripped up a chunk of the road, sending the car flying. Steve used this to his advantage, jumping back onto the truck.

“Come on!” he taunted Ultron, slamming his shield into the robot. The quinjet came dangerously close, firing at Ultron before pulling away, the Ultron drones in tow. 

Little did he know you and the Maximoff twins could see what was going on. The three of you had snuck into a back alley and were watching the Captain fight Ultron on the news. Your mark began to thrum unhappily, worried for it’s other half. You signalled for the twins to follow, and you disappeared once again. 

Ultron was thrown off the truck by Steve, but recovered quickly, and effectively thrusted both himself and the Captain into the train parallel to the road. “The guards are heading back to you, if you’re gonna do something, do it now.” Clint’s voice came through the coms as Ultron and the Captain continued to fight in the close quarters of the train.

“I’m going in, Cap, can you keep him occupied?” Natasha asked.

Steve fought the urge to be rude, and instead settled for, “What do you think I’ve been doing?” Just as Ultron seemed to be getting the best of the Captain, a familiar pale blur ran by, knocking Ultron off balance. Red magic bent the metal of the train to trap Ultron leaving Steve looking confused, before realising it was the Maximoff twins. 

“Please, don’t do this,” The robot pleaded, sounding genuinely hurt.

“What choice do we have?” Wanda asked, standing in a battle position.

“You were meant for peace, and now you’ve forced our hand. The resulting conflict is your fault.” You stepped beside Wanda, eyes sharp as you looked at Ultron with disdain. Steve felt himself relax at seeing you safe. His relief became shock when you slowly approached Ultron, place your hand on his arm and let your whole body become the same grey adamantium that made up Ultron’s body. He fired a laser at you, missed, and blew a hole through the train. You threw a punch the AI, but he simply flew away, resulting in you mumbling “shit” under your breath.

"___? What did he do to you?!" 

"Steve, sweetie I'm okay, you better warn the team."

“I lost him, he’s headed your way!” Steve warned Clint and Nat as he checked on the train driver, who was unfortunately dead. There wasn’t a way for the train to stop and it was running out of track. The train broke the service barricade and hurtled onto the streets. Steve headed back into the main compartment with you and the twins. “Civilians in our path.” Pietro took the cue, nodded, and ran out onto the streets. He turned to Wanda next. “Think you can stop this thing?” She looked stunned but nodded as well. 

You looked to Steve, yelling at him. “Heads up, we’re gonna crash into a building!” He put up his shield but was thrown back anyway. You dug your heels in and braced, and your adamantium body stopped any real damage to you. You could see Wanda sending her magic into the train, enchanting the wheels to make them stop. You ran over to Steve, brushed his cheek with your cold hands, and then placed a hand on his shield. Your cells changed immediately, your body taking on a darker grey, before the paint kicked in, colouring your metal plates red and blue and silver. Your whole body was now a series of interlocking vibranium plates. Running to the front of the train, you barrelled out of the window shattering it further. “I’m made of the world’s strongest metal right now, I can do this,” You mumbled to yourself, before shoving your heels into the road and pushing back against the front of the train to slow it down. As you slid back slowly, the asphalt crashed against your vibranium body. The train slowed, the combination of magic and metal finally stilling the transport.

You collapsed onto the ground, taking a few seconds before heading over to Pietro and Wanda on the side of the road. “I’m fine,” the boy waved his sister off. “I just need a minute.” 

Steve left the train and approached you three. “I’ve very tempted not to give you one.” 

You patted Pietro’s shoulder, before running up to Steve, throwing your arms around his neck. The captain held you close, before the moment was broken by Wanda. “The cradle. Did you get it.”

“Stark will take care of it,” Steve replied.

“No… he won’t…” She mumbled.

Steve gave her a look. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Stark’s not crazy.”

Wanda looked at the captain, green eyes shining with knowledge. “He will do anything to make things right.”

By the way Steve dropped his shoulder, you knew he could tell she was right. “Stark come in. Stark. Anyone on coms?”

“Ultron can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?” Wanda was right of course. Everyone knew that Tony Stark, like him or not, was a destructive person.

You cut in, a metal hand on Wanda’s a flesh one on Steve’s as you forced the vibranium to unbind from you. “Whatever happens, we need to get back to the tower, now.” You flipped out a phone. “We can get a flight in the next four hours, discuss our game plan, and stop whatever Tony’s doing.” You moved your hand from Steve’s shoulder to his face, rubbing your thumb across his jawline soothingly. He looked into your eyes, your face was still metallic, but your brow was creased in a frown, your lips shut tightly. As the metal separated from you, the colour returned from to your face, and your ___ eyes focused in on him, no longer covered in a sheen of vibranium. “Tony is bound to be doing something wrong. It’s just him. We have to stop him.”

Steve dropped his gaze. “I know. I know you trust the twins, but this is all so much. I mean, I leave you for a few days, and now you have powers. Now Nat's missing and I don't want to lose you again too. Forgive me for being concerned.” 

You sighed and pressed your lips to his cheek. “Come on, we have plans to make, Stevie.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doors of the tower let you in, Steve having such a high level of clearance meant you could go anywhere. Your ragtag group bustled into the lab, following the sounds of machinery hissing and voices. “The genetic coding is at 97 percent, you have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes.” Bruce was with him, made sense.

Steve stepped forward, purposefully stepping loud and startling the two. “I’m only gonna say this once.” He was oozing authority, and you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t hot.

“How about none-ce?” Tony replied childishly. 

“Shut it down,” Steve said

“Nope, not gonna happen.” Tony ignored him and kept working.

“You don’t know what you’re doing.” You stepped forward next to him, sensing a fight. 

“And you do? She’s not in your head?” Bruce asked, gesturing to Wanda.

Wanda stepped from out behind you two. “I know you’re angry- “

“Oh, we’re way past that,” Bruce cut in bluntly. “I could choke the life out of you and not change a shade.”

“Bruce!” you almost hissed at him, putting an arm around Wanda to console her, the girl looking shocked from the normally timid scientist’s mouth.

“Banner, after everything that’s happened- “Steve yelled.

“It’s nothing compared to what’s coming- “Tony yelled. 

“You don’t know what’s in there!” Wanda yelled.

“This isn’t a game!” Steve again. 

You saw Pietro roll his eyes, before dashing around the lab, disrupting papers, breaking glasses and pulling out what looked like an important pipe. “No, no, go on.” Tony and Bruce looked at him, as if they couldn’t believe he’d just done that. “You were saying?”

Then you heard a gunshot, and the floor beneath the speedster broke, Wanda crying out for her twin. Peering down you saw Clint place a boot on Pietro, before making a cocky remark. “What? You didn’t see that coming?” 

A computer beeped. “I’m re-routing the upload,” Tony said, before Steve threw his shield, the disc ricocheting off the walls. One of Tony’s Iron Man gauntlets flew to his hand, and he fired a laser back, hitting him dead on and sending him flying.

Wanda’s hands began to glow, but Bruce hand her in a choke hold. “Go ahead, piss me off,” he said tauntingly. You helped Steve up, touched his shield, and let your body become vibranium once again. You stepped towards Bruce, feet clicking menacingly on the ground now that they were metal. “___?” He asked, confused.

Your empty grey eyes stared his down. “Sorry about this.” You punched his in the side, throwing him away from Wanda. 

More crashing, and Thor arrived. The Asguardian stood above the cradle, hammer in hand. He held it up, and electricity gathered around the weapon, before bringing it down on the cradle, electrifying the machine. Even as Bruce protested and nearby computers warned of a power overload, the god of thunder kept electrifying the cradle. After a suspenseful few seconds, he pulled away, everyone waiting for the penny to drop.

And drop it did, or rather, explode.

A being burst from the cradle, throwing Thor off. Everyone watched in awe and anticipation as the red-skinned figure rose, looking around the room curiously, the gem in it’s head pulsing softly. It locked eyes with Thor, barrelling towards it, but was tossed away easily by the god. It broke the window to the lab but stopped just in front of the window to the New York skyline. He seemed… mesmerised, just hovering in front of the window. Was it the lights, or his reflection that enchanted him so much? Green suddenly covered the parts of its skin that a human would normally cover with clothes. The whole team as well as the twins had left the lab, observing the new entity. You slid your hand into Steve’s, a little worried. He gripped it tightly, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. It came to rest on the ground, no longer attacking anyone. 

“I’m sorry, that was… odd.” Its – his – voice reminded you of… JARVIS, the tower’s AI before he had been ‘killed’ by Ultron. “Thank you,” he said politely, dipping his head to Thor, before forming a golden cape out of nothing, just like Thor’s. 

Steve cocked a brow. “Thor, you helped create this?”

“I’ve had a vision,” the god replied. “A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life, and at its centre is that.” He pointed to the stone in the person’s head.

“What, the gem?” Bruce asked.

“It’s the Mind Stone, it’s one of the six infinity stones. The greatest powers in the universe, unparallel in destructive capabilities.” Thor answered, being the closet to an expert in the group standing there.  
“Then why would you bring- “ 

Thor cut Steve off. “Because Stark is right.”

“Oh, it’s definitely the end times,” Bruce mumbled. 

“The Avengers can’t beat Ultron alone.” Thor was right, and you all knew it.

“Why does your… Vision sound like JARVIS?” Steve asked the question you were wondering yourself.

Tony approached Vision. “We refigured JARVIS’ matrix to create something new.”

“I think I’ve had my fill of new…” Steve muttered. 

“You think I’m a child of Ultron.” The Vision stated, looking Steve in the eye. 

“You’re not?”

“I’m not Ultron. I am not JARVIS, I am…I am.” You couldn’t help but marvel at the Vision. Such wonderful things came out of science, and he seemed to be one of them. Of course, nothing would top Steve.

Wanda stepped forward. “I looked in your head and saw annihilation.”

“Look again,” he invited her.

Clint chuckled, but not in the nice way. “Her seal of approval means jack to me.” Both you and Wanda shot him a look.

“Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself all came from the Mind Stone, and they’re nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side…”

“Is it?” Steve asked, pulling you closer as the Vision’s eyes landed on you. “Are you? On our side.”

“I don’t think it’s that simple.”

“Well it better get simple real soon,” Clint said, and you could detect the underlying threat. 

“I am on the side of life. Ultron isn’t. He will end it all.” Vision looked at the group of heroes. 

“What’s he waiting for?” Tony asked.

“You,” Vision answered honestly.

“Where?”

“Sokovia.” Clint answered for Vision. “He’s got Nat there too.”

“If we’re wrong about you… If you’re the monster Ultron made you to be…” Bruce stood in front of the android.

“What will you do?” He asked Bruce and didn’t get an answer. His eyes flicked around the room. “I don’t want to kill Ultron. He’s unique, and he’s in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So, he must be destroyed.” Vision made it sound so simple. “Every form he’s built, every trace of his presence on the net. We have to act now, and not one of us can do it without the others.” The group looked at each other uneasily. “I don’t know if I am a monster,” Vision said, looking at his hands. “I don’t think I’d know if I were one. I’m not what you are, and not what you intended. So, there may be no way to make you trust me. But we need to go.” The Vision whirled around, holding Mjolnir out to Thor. 

Vision could lift Mjonir. He was worthy too. You knew in that moment you trusted the Vision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhh my fingers are cold and numb bc its 3 am and i am running on a cup of coffee and anxiety
> 
> the term of endearement wanda uses for you is 'dear' bc i'm a sucker for soft super females
> 
> Um, so now you have powers! Substance mimicry woo
> 
> ANyways pls comment bc i love getting coments (unless they're about how i have to make steve and tony gay or how you 'refuse to be shipped with steve' if ultron dies evEN THO THW WHOLE POINT OF AN X READER IS THAT ITS TITLE CHARACTED X READER, SO SORRY THAT STEVE AND TONY ARENT GAY HERE-
> 
> BESIDEs ironstrange is better :)
> 
> drink your school kids and dont stay up so late you cry bc you have dust in ur keyboard

**Author's Note:**

> Sup guys, this is my first work, thanks for reading! I promise it'll get better oof
> 
> Drop a comment or a kudos and i'll see you in the next chapter
> 
>  
> 
> Starplex out!


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